Throughout the summer I'll be writing up each of the 34 players who played for the University of Minnesota under Tubby Smith. Why Tubby? Because it's the most recent era that's over. If this goes well perhaps I'll go back and do Monson as well. I'll be looking at any player who played at Minnesota under Tubby at some point, even if it was just a year. And I will be considering their entire Gopher career, so guys who started under Monson or finished under Pitino will have their whole career considered, but anyone who transferred in or out is only evaluated on their Gopher stats. With me? Here we go:
#34 to #31 can be found here.
#26-#30 can be found here.
#21-#25 are here
#20. MAVERICK AHANMISI (2010-2014).
- Stuck around all four years, which is a positive, but never really developed into a third string point guard. Probably took more heat than anyone on this list, but you can't blame him too much because he basically got forced into more playing time than he had the talent to play. He did see his playing time dwindle from 13.3 minutes per game in his sophomore year to 10.5 as a junior and 9.6 as a senior. He ended his career shooting under 40% from the floor and with a 1.1 to 0.9 assist-to-turnover ratio. He was a late spring desperation signing and he generally played like it. But at least he tried and wasn't a whiner.
#19. JOE COLEMAN (2011-2013).
- He was a pretty important piece on Tubby's last two teams before transferring to St. Mary's when Richard Pitino came in despite having a game that would thrive in his system. He never developed an outside shot, but he excelled at getting to the rim and finding ways to score despite standing just 6-4. His amazing 29 point outburst at Illinois showed his potential, but he wasn't able to harness that consistently and now he's off to the Gaels. He played in one game last season before an injury knocked him out for the year.
#18. JAMAL ABU SHAMALA (2005-2009).
- One of the harder players to rank. He wasn't very good, but he played four years and had his moments, generally behind the 3-point line because he basically didn't do anything else. It was a special moment whenever he found himself with an open three and you just didn't care if it went in because if he was in the game when it mattered it was when the Gophers were terrible and if he was in when they were decent the game was probably out of hand already. Completely unfair to him, but for whatever reason he represents the failure of the Monson/Molinari years to me. Probably because he was actually starting at one point when things were pretty much completely off the rails. Now I can appreciate who he was, at pretty much right in the middle of this countdown seems about right.
#17. COLTON IVERSON (2008-2011).
- If you had to make a poster for guys who never developed under Tubby Smith, it would have to be a pretty big poster. But if you wanted to narrow down to two guys, Iverson is one of them. He was a so so post player for the Gophers, but once he transferred to Colorado State he turned into a monster who got himself drafted in the second round of the NBA Draft. Don't remember he became a monster because he played in a smaller conference way out west? Well he averaged 14 points and 10 rebounds a game his senior year. Those are amazing numbers. Could he have put that up in the Big Ten? Most likely not, but it's clear he was underutilized his three years as a Gopher.
#16. DEVOE JOSEPH (2008-2011).
- One of the most disappointing players of the era for me, I really thought Joseph was going to be a lights out scorer. There were times where he looked so good, but he and Tubby clearly didn't get along, both on the court (Joseph could get lost out there at times) and off (weed). Then, 8 games into his junior year he bolted after being suspended twice for an undisclosed reason (weed), apparently complaining about not getting enough playing time and shot attempts which was ridiculous. Al Nolen would get hurt later that season, which would have given Joseph all the playing time he could handle. By then he was already at Oregon, and, rather than sit out a full year to maximize his playing time, he joined the ducks for the second semester of the 2011-2012 year, which meant that in his final two years he played a grand total of just 36 games. Yeah, he ended up developing into that scorer I thought he would (averaged 16.7 points per game), but a series of poor decisions cost him a lot.
Showing posts with label Devoe Joseph. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Devoe Joseph. Show all posts
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Week in Review - 2/13/2011
There are no word about the Gophers, or at least nothing more than a throwaway line here and there, in the below post. Mainly because they didn't play this weekend. I ripped off about 1,200 words after the loss to the dirty dirtball Sconnies, and I don't really feel the need to do it again when nothing has changed. Plus there was only one comment left after that post where I poured out my heart and thoughts and so you asshole don't deserve any more. You're lucky I post at all.
WHO WAS AWESOME
1. Kentucky Wildcats. I'm now starting to think that worrying about Kentucky being a young team and/or having a less than elite in-game coach doesn't really matter because good god thee guys are just not fair. What did Kentucky do this week? Well, they demolished their top contender in the conference by 20 (Florida, more on them later) and then went into Vandy, a pretty tough place to play, and beat the Commodore, probably the third best team in the conference. They've got unstoppable inside scorers (Anthony Davis, Terrence Jones), three-point shooters (Doron Lamb, Darius Miller), slashers (Jones, Michael Gilchrist), shot blockers (Davis, Jones), and lock down perimeter defenders (Miller, Gilchrist). Their "weak link" is point guard Marquis Teague, and he'd be the best player on 90% of college teams. Just sick. I have no idea how they're going to lose in March.
2. Austin Rivers. He's still got too much of a tendency to go one man show, and when he has the ball on the break you know he's taking the shot 80% of the time, but holy crap was Rivers awesome against North Carolina. 29 points with 6 three-pointers and everyone was big, including the game winner right in Tyler Zeller's stupid face. Reading what some fans of both teams have written and this might be the "best" win by Duke in this rivalry, coming at Chapel Hill versus one of UNC's most talented squads, at least in recent memory. And they basically did it because Austin Rivers' decided to breakout. I think going pro after this season will be best for everyone involved because Rivers game is an NBA game and he's struggled trying to adjust playing within the constraints of a tight system rather than, "go get 40 Austin", but man, he is the real deal.
3. Wichita State Shockers. I don't usually like to talk about the Missouri Valley on account of it sucks so bad, but Wichita's win over Creighton this weekend was truly a thing of beauty. See, at the beginning of the year Wichita was supposed to be this year's MVC darling, a team with a shot to knock off some good squads, have a successful conference season, and roll to an easy at-large bid with a chance to make some noise. Then they lost to both Alabama and Temple in Puerto Rico and everybody was like, meh, while Creighton raced out to a 21-2 start and has everyone's darling Doug McDermott and was like Lindsay Lohan stealing everything Rachel McAdams had. But then Wichita went to Creighton and completely destroyed the Blue Jays and no Creighton has lost three straight while Wichita can put this win with their win over UNLV and good computer numbers and are probably more likely to make it at-large than Creighton. So suck on that, Lohan.
4. St. Louis Billikens. I'm guessing reading about St. Louis doesn't exactly rank in the top 5 of anybody's favorite things to do list, but it' rare you see a team take care of business like they have and have jumped from the lower-mid bubble to near the top of it. The Billikens won on the road this week at both St. Joe's and LaSalle, two teams in contention for the Atlantic 10 crown, and now sit at 8-3, just a half game behind Temple, and that followed up a week where they beat St. Bonaventure and Dayton, two other teams towards the top of the A-10. Their non-conference strength of schedule is awful (213 in the country) but they do have win over Washington, Oklahoma, Boston College, and Villanova - not exactly the 1927 Yankees but a better lineup than the Gophers' can show. And they're trending up. Fully expect Majerus to finally be back in the big dance.
5. Cal Bears. Ye, the Pac-10 is still horrible and yes, there's a good chance it's a one bid conference, but that's exactly what makes a team actually going out and doing something worthwhile notable because nobody ever does it in this league. The Bears went on their road trip through Southern California and won at both USC and UCLA (their RPIs are 228 and 121, but remember it's the Pac-10 so we're on a different curve here). This now brings them to 10-3 and 20-6 overall, and at least getting near the middle of the bubble. Oh, and in case you're wondering Justin Cobbs had 28 point and 10 assists in those two wins. (Also noteworthy: Oregon also was 2-0 this week. Devoe had 29 points and 7 assists.) It's so funny I'm going to stab myself in the ankle with the bayonet I have sitting next to the couch.
WHO SUCKED
1. Florida Gators. Bit of a rough one for the Gators and those who at one point listed the Gators as a sleeper Final Four team. First, on Tuesday, the had a big chance to make a statement going into Lexington to play the #1 Kentucky Wildcats and walked out 20-point losers, and then on Saturday they took a home gimme win vs. Tennessee and somehow ended up losing by five. Actually I shouldn't say somehow, because it's pretty obvious than when a team is as dependent on the three-pointer the way Florida is (6th in the country in % of points coming from behind the line) when the shots aren't falling they're screwed. The Gators 17-56 from behind the arc in those two games, significantly worse than their season mark of nearly 40%. And a special shout-out to Erving Walker and Bradley Beal, who, along with Kenny Boynton, are basically the entire team and were 1-11 from 3 against Kentucky and 2-11 against Tennessee. That reliance on the three makes them both a threat to make a run in March and an early upset candidate. Guess I'm going to have to guess right.
2. William Buford. Buford actually had a pretty good game earlier in the week against Purdue (29 points on 10-17 shooting) which hurt the narrative a bit but he's been absolutely awful lately other than that game, and saved one of his worst for their big loss against Sparty, shooting 2-12 with 3 turnover (to 1 assist) for a grand total of 4 points. Looking back, outside of that game against Purdue the last time Buford shot 50% or better in a game was the first game of 2012, and he's shot 29-104 in those games, and has had 29 turnover versus 21 assists. Ohio State is really good and are absolutely a title contender, but if Buford doesn't get it figured out there's no way they're getting past the sweet 16.
3. Baylor Bears. I still like these guys a lot, but after they lost to both Kansas (at home) and Missouri (on the road) this week it might be time to take a harder look. Because they've now been swept by both those teams, and considering there are only three really good teams in the Big 12 (with apologies to Iowa State) that means that Baylor hasn't had a good win in quite some time. There's no doubt they're still a very good team with the resume to prove it (wins over Kansas State, Miss State, West Virginia, St. Mary's, BYU, and San Diego State), but there are alarm bells ringing all over the place after those two sweeps. Worth noting that Perry Jones scored 5 points against Kansas on 1-8 shooting and 4 points on 2-12 shooting against Missouri, which means he's only broken double digit scoring once in four game against these two teams. I'm going to go ahead and not do anymore research and just assume he's a choker in big games. Join me, won't you?
4. The Grammys. I'm thrilled they chose to award the Foo Fighters with basically every award they were up for, but I can't forgive them for slighting Wiz Khalifa for best rap performance and song. You're seriously going to give the Grammy to Jay-Z and "Mail it in" Kanye for Otis over the masterpiece Black & Yellow from Wiz and give the other one to some collaboration with like six singer/rappers? Joke. I suppose I should just be happy it was nominated, but it should have won, but the politics of not giving a grammy to such a power collaboration probably made this inevitable. The grammys used to mean something and be about the music but, much like when they stopped eating the groundhog in Punxatawney, we live in a sissified society. Shame. Check it:
5. Murray State and Harvard. I'm going to lump these two schools together because they both have an outside chance at an at-large berth, both stumbled this weekend (Murray lost to Tennessee State or Tech I'm not sure but I'm not looking it up and Harvard lost to Princeton), and both should probably do everything they can to win their league. Harvard still looks pretty good with only one Ivy loss, and now that I look apparently Murray State is a lock to get an at-large according to ESPN so maybe I'm stupid. I'm sorry, but how exactly are they a lock? Even at 21-1 their RPI is 57 (Gophers are 54, FYI), Strength of schedule is 292, and non-conference strength of schedule is 132. They only have four wins over the RPI top 150, and the two best are over Memphis and Southern Miss whose RPIs are top 25 but everyone know they suck. One more conference loss and I say ship 'em to the NIT. Plus maybe then I'll get to see them live at Williams' Arena, score!
Oh, and in case you're wondering if you missed him, no, I didn't write about Jeremy Lin because oh my god will you people shut up.
WHO WAS AWESOME
1. Kentucky Wildcats. I'm now starting to think that worrying about Kentucky being a young team and/or having a less than elite in-game coach doesn't really matter because good god thee guys are just not fair. What did Kentucky do this week? Well, they demolished their top contender in the conference by 20 (Florida, more on them later) and then went into Vandy, a pretty tough place to play, and beat the Commodore, probably the third best team in the conference. They've got unstoppable inside scorers (Anthony Davis, Terrence Jones), three-point shooters (Doron Lamb, Darius Miller), slashers (Jones, Michael Gilchrist), shot blockers (Davis, Jones), and lock down perimeter defenders (Miller, Gilchrist). Their "weak link" is point guard Marquis Teague, and he'd be the best player on 90% of college teams. Just sick. I have no idea how they're going to lose in March.
2. Austin Rivers. He's still got too much of a tendency to go one man show, and when he has the ball on the break you know he's taking the shot 80% of the time, but holy crap was Rivers awesome against North Carolina. 29 points with 6 three-pointers and everyone was big, including the game winner right in Tyler Zeller's stupid face. Reading what some fans of both teams have written and this might be the "best" win by Duke in this rivalry, coming at Chapel Hill versus one of UNC's most talented squads, at least in recent memory. And they basically did it because Austin Rivers' decided to breakout. I think going pro after this season will be best for everyone involved because Rivers game is an NBA game and he's struggled trying to adjust playing within the constraints of a tight system rather than, "go get 40 Austin", but man, he is the real deal.
3. Wichita State Shockers. I don't usually like to talk about the Missouri Valley on account of it sucks so bad, but Wichita's win over Creighton this weekend was truly a thing of beauty. See, at the beginning of the year Wichita was supposed to be this year's MVC darling, a team with a shot to knock off some good squads, have a successful conference season, and roll to an easy at-large bid with a chance to make some noise. Then they lost to both Alabama and Temple in Puerto Rico and everybody was like, meh, while Creighton raced out to a 21-2 start and has everyone's darling Doug McDermott and was like Lindsay Lohan stealing everything Rachel McAdams had. But then Wichita went to Creighton and completely destroyed the Blue Jays and no Creighton has lost three straight while Wichita can put this win with their win over UNLV and good computer numbers and are probably more likely to make it at-large than Creighton. So suck on that, Lohan.
4. St. Louis Billikens. I'm guessing reading about St. Louis doesn't exactly rank in the top 5 of anybody's favorite things to do list, but it' rare you see a team take care of business like they have and have jumped from the lower-mid bubble to near the top of it. The Billikens won on the road this week at both St. Joe's and LaSalle, two teams in contention for the Atlantic 10 crown, and now sit at 8-3, just a half game behind Temple, and that followed up a week where they beat St. Bonaventure and Dayton, two other teams towards the top of the A-10. Their non-conference strength of schedule is awful (213 in the country) but they do have win over Washington, Oklahoma, Boston College, and Villanova - not exactly the 1927 Yankees but a better lineup than the Gophers' can show. And they're trending up. Fully expect Majerus to finally be back in the big dance.
5. Cal Bears. Ye, the Pac-10 is still horrible and yes, there's a good chance it's a one bid conference, but that's exactly what makes a team actually going out and doing something worthwhile notable because nobody ever does it in this league. The Bears went on their road trip through Southern California and won at both USC and UCLA (their RPIs are 228 and 121, but remember it's the Pac-10 so we're on a different curve here). This now brings them to 10-3 and 20-6 overall, and at least getting near the middle of the bubble. Oh, and in case you're wondering Justin Cobbs had 28 point and 10 assists in those two wins. (Also noteworthy: Oregon also was 2-0 this week. Devoe had 29 points and 7 assists.) It's so funny I'm going to stab myself in the ankle with the bayonet I have sitting next to the couch.
WHO SUCKED
1. Florida Gators. Bit of a rough one for the Gators and those who at one point listed the Gators as a sleeper Final Four team. First, on Tuesday, the had a big chance to make a statement going into Lexington to play the #1 Kentucky Wildcats and walked out 20-point losers, and then on Saturday they took a home gimme win vs. Tennessee and somehow ended up losing by five. Actually I shouldn't say somehow, because it's pretty obvious than when a team is as dependent on the three-pointer the way Florida is (6th in the country in % of points coming from behind the line) when the shots aren't falling they're screwed. The Gators 17-56 from behind the arc in those two games, significantly worse than their season mark of nearly 40%. And a special shout-out to Erving Walker and Bradley Beal, who, along with Kenny Boynton, are basically the entire team and were 1-11 from 3 against Kentucky and 2-11 against Tennessee. That reliance on the three makes them both a threat to make a run in March and an early upset candidate. Guess I'm going to have to guess right.
2. William Buford. Buford actually had a pretty good game earlier in the week against Purdue (29 points on 10-17 shooting) which hurt the narrative a bit but he's been absolutely awful lately other than that game, and saved one of his worst for their big loss against Sparty, shooting 2-12 with 3 turnover (to 1 assist) for a grand total of 4 points. Looking back, outside of that game against Purdue the last time Buford shot 50% or better in a game was the first game of 2012, and he's shot 29-104 in those games, and has had 29 turnover versus 21 assists. Ohio State is really good and are absolutely a title contender, but if Buford doesn't get it figured out there's no way they're getting past the sweet 16.
3. Baylor Bears. I still like these guys a lot, but after they lost to both Kansas (at home) and Missouri (on the road) this week it might be time to take a harder look. Because they've now been swept by both those teams, and considering there are only three really good teams in the Big 12 (with apologies to Iowa State) that means that Baylor hasn't had a good win in quite some time. There's no doubt they're still a very good team with the resume to prove it (wins over Kansas State, Miss State, West Virginia, St. Mary's, BYU, and San Diego State), but there are alarm bells ringing all over the place after those two sweeps. Worth noting that Perry Jones scored 5 points against Kansas on 1-8 shooting and 4 points on 2-12 shooting against Missouri, which means he's only broken double digit scoring once in four game against these two teams. I'm going to go ahead and not do anymore research and just assume he's a choker in big games. Join me, won't you?
4. The Grammys. I'm thrilled they chose to award the Foo Fighters with basically every award they were up for, but I can't forgive them for slighting Wiz Khalifa for best rap performance and song. You're seriously going to give the Grammy to Jay-Z and "Mail it in" Kanye for Otis over the masterpiece Black & Yellow from Wiz and give the other one to some collaboration with like six singer/rappers? Joke. I suppose I should just be happy it was nominated, but it should have won, but the politics of not giving a grammy to such a power collaboration probably made this inevitable. The grammys used to mean something and be about the music but, much like when they stopped eating the groundhog in Punxatawney, we live in a sissified society. Shame. Check it:
5. Murray State and Harvard. I'm going to lump these two schools together because they both have an outside chance at an at-large berth, both stumbled this weekend (Murray lost to Tennessee State or Tech I'm not sure but I'm not looking it up and Harvard lost to Princeton), and both should probably do everything they can to win their league. Harvard still looks pretty good with only one Ivy loss, and now that I look apparently Murray State is a lock to get an at-large according to ESPN so maybe I'm stupid. I'm sorry, but how exactly are they a lock? Even at 21-1 their RPI is 57 (Gophers are 54, FYI), Strength of schedule is 292, and non-conference strength of schedule is 132. They only have four wins over the RPI top 150, and the two best are over Memphis and Southern Miss whose RPIs are top 25 but everyone know they suck. One more conference loss and I say ship 'em to the NIT. Plus maybe then I'll get to see them live at Williams' Arena, score!
Oh, and in case you're wondering if you missed him, no, I didn't write about Jeremy Lin because oh my god will you people shut up.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Week in Review - 12/12/2011
There's no Gopher talk below because meh. I'm sorry, they blew out St. Peter's which is exactly what they're supposed to do. I just don't care. I could probably break down all the players' shit or whatever but again, it was against St. Peter's so it's all basically meaningless. Well not totally meaningless, I mean it's nice to see them work over a shitbox team they way they should so that's encouraging. And I know this is a Gopher blog and I should write up every single game but in my defense fuck that shit.
WHO WAS AWESOME
1. Anaheim Angels. Ok so yeah, the Pujols' contract is probably too long and the C.J. Wilson contract is probably a little much for somebody who hasn't shown he can be a true ace, but the Angels just grabbed the best hitter and best pitcher on the market. As someone who thinks a team should spend as much as they can and as much as they want to win and doesn't get all revved up about big market vs. small market discrepancies (I don't hate the Yankees and Red Sox because they have more money, I hate them because they're assholes), I think it's an awesome move to say "Yeah, this is probably more than these guys are worth, but we can afford it and it makes us better." Pretty sweet week to be an Angel fan, and with Pujols, Kendry Morales assuming he's ok, and Mark Trumbo now on board they have a pretty sweet trade chip which, if they're lucky, they can use to also persuade somebody to take Torii Hunter or Vernon Wells' contract. And now they have Wilson, Dan Haren, and Jered Weaver at the front of the rotation. Yeah, nice. I'd say this makes up for the Napoli thing.
2. Indiana Hoosiers. Well that was a pretty awesome game. Huge win for the Hoosiers, and they're definitely on the way back but I'm not convinced they're good. I mean really they shouldn't even have won that game but John Calipari was too busy counting his illegal monies to actually coach. Do you realize Indiana was down 2 with 6 seconds left and Kentucky had TWO fouls to give. So you wait until the guy catches the ball in the back court, let him get 2-3 dribbles down and foul. Then, when they take it out on the side, you waste another second and foul again, and at this point Indiana has like one second left and the ball out of bounds on the side at mid-court. Boom. You can choose to blame Calipari or you can choose to blame his players instead, but I contend that Calipari coached those players so IN YOUR FACE.
3. Michigan State Spartans. Pretty good weekend for the B1G 10 (outside of Ohio State) and Michigan State's win over Gonzaga in Spokane (or wherever the hell Gonzaga is) was a very good one. What I found most interesting was Draymond Green's line. Usually he's all like, I'm gonna grab a bunch of boards and dish some assists and score some points and just kind of facilitate the offense, but in this one he just took the hell over and scored 34 of their 75 points (no other Spartan hit double figures) and really didn't do anything else (2 rebs, 3 asst) and was like a completely different person than usual. I don't know if that's good or bad. Like one time I had this friend who was a huge drunk and he was hilarious but he drank like all the time and then he stopped drinking and we were like good for you that will make you so much healthier but then he wasn't funny any more and was kind of lame and I haven't talked to him in a long time.
4. Devoe Joseph. Royce White is probably the best player in the Big 12 (FACT!!), Justin Cobbs is a valuable member of Cal's almost certainly NCAA Tournament squad, and now Devoe makes his debut for Oregon and leads them in scoring with 18, throwing in 4 assists (to 1 TO) to boot. That's always fun. I'm fucking pissed at Devoe. I liked him too much for him to just turn his back on me like this, then show up with some west coast hippie dude looking sexier than ever. That was a metaphor. Also, because I don't know where else to put this and I can't remember my twitter password, I just want to mention that I'm alone in my basement and I'm choosing to watch The Next Iron Chef rather than football. Does that make me gay?
5. Rob Gronkowski. Do you remember how when you used to play Tecmo Super Bowl sometimes Christian Okoye would be in "excellent" condition and then when you'd run with him you'd actively look for defensive players to just run over and bounce them right the fuck out of the screen? That's like Gronky, he's just sick. Completely untackleable. It doesn't even matter if it's some pussy ass little safety or some big fat defensive lineman, nobody can bring this dude down. And he's not just some big bruiser, he's got hands that are baby soft. I once saw Randy Johnson whip an egg at his head at 98 mph and he just cradled it in and the thing didn't even break. Then he humped a porn star and when he was done she was all like "you're the best I've ever had" and he was all like "yeah don't call me." True story.
WHO SUCKED
1. Joe Webb Fans. Are you people serious? After a very nice day at the bar with Dawger and Bear (ps suck it $nake), I happened to be listening to the after game call-in show or whatever for the Vikings and I'm pretty sure people are completely out of their damn minds. Hosts and callers both, because there was apparently a for real debate about whether Webb or Ponder should be the Viking QB of the future. Guess what geniuses, Joe Webb sucks at throwing a football. Did you even watch the game? He was missing open receivers by five freaking yards and I'm not exaggerating. He's not Mike Vick bad or even Terrelle Pryor bad, he makes them look like me playing bar league football - dead on balls accurate. Yes he's fast. Fun. But Ponder might be an actual real life QB, even if that throw across the body crap was the worst throw in the history of football. Webb is a bit and you're dumb. You know damn well you love him, don't lie to me.
2. Creighton Blue Jays. Could be the return of the curse of DWG, or could just be that Creighton sucks balls because after getting out to a blistering start that actually had me complimenting a Missouri Valley team, Creighton sucked big-time this weekend getting rolled by St. Joseph's. Creighton allowed St. Joe's to shoot 49%, sent them to the line 29 times and got there just 9 themselves, and was out-rebounded 37-24. They also allowed someone named Carl Jones to score 29 points. I don't really have else to add since I don't really know that much about either team or care, but I did bet a decent amount on Creighton to win this one so I'm a little peeved.
3. Memphis Tigers. Speaking of betting oh my god I suck at betting so much when it's not props. How the hell could Memphis possibly lose to Murray State at home? Murray State isn't even good. They're not even mediocre, and that's why Memphis was an 11 point favorite but instead of winning by eleven they just flat out lost. Which made sense because I got raped like an Egyptian geisha this weekend. But really, could Pastnor have learned from Calipari any better? Recruit great athletes, stress defense, refuse to run anything remotely resembling a real offense and just hope your players can outplay your opponent - exactly like Kentucky these days. Too bad Murray State is boring and disciplined. I hate that shit.
4. Manchester United. Wow. Just wow. How do you lose to Basel, and how do you get knocked out in the Group Stage in Champions League? This is the first time since 2005 Man U hasn't made it to the knockout round. Also I told the swamp donkey to sock it before I gave her a trunky in the tradesman's entrance and had her lick my yarbles.
5. The Xavier/Cincy Fight. As someone who continually rips hockey because most of the "fans" of the "sport" care more about the fighting than the game I need to weight in here and say that the fight was stupid and dumb and stupid. But you know what's even more stupid? The people who are trying to blow this thing out of proportion and act like programs should be shut down and players should be kicked off teams. Yes, punching some ugly white dude in the head isn't a good thing and stomping on some guy who's already on the ground is probably not a resume builder, but this is the ugliest rivalry in college hoops and has been for years. The whole game (and pre-game really) was chippy and bitchy and you could see this shit coming when the refs didn't step in like asap. Yes, it's a black mark on the game but it's not like somebody was engaging in a little horseplay in the showers here so let's settle down. Also those people who are condemning Holloway for his "gangster" comment need to fucking relax. He's not saying they're Crips for christ's sake, it's called his vernacular. Relax, whitey.
By the way, this Tebow shit is ridiculous. Every week it's the same thing - suck badly and embarrassingly for 3.5 quarters and then tear shit up in the last 6 minutes. Once again it happened this week. When I left the bar the Broncos were down 10-0, the offense had done nothing, and Tebow had 45 yards passing. When I got home it turned out the Broncos won and Tebow threw for over 200 yards. I mean how does this shit happen every single week? It's crazy, and I gotta tell ya I think I've gone from Tebow hater to semi-on the bandwagon. Seriously if he wasn't silly religious I'd probably be all aboard, but who am I to question god? And if I was going to I'd probably start with the platypus anyway, then move on to general human misery and/or specific events like the holocaust or that tidal wave thing, and then eventually get to Tebow. That sentence kind of got away from me. Anyway, has there ever been such a lock for #2 in MVP voting? Every single writer is going to go Rodgers #1 and Tebow #2. And if they pick somebody other than Rodgers they're going to go that guy #1 and Tebow #2. He's going to finish in second with zero #1 votes. Right? Because nobody would voluntarily vote him #1, right? RIGHT?
Also I have $2 on Tebow to win MVP which would get me $200 so I'm on board. Choo choo.
WHO WAS AWESOME
1. Anaheim Angels. Ok so yeah, the Pujols' contract is probably too long and the C.J. Wilson contract is probably a little much for somebody who hasn't shown he can be a true ace, but the Angels just grabbed the best hitter and best pitcher on the market. As someone who thinks a team should spend as much as they can and as much as they want to win and doesn't get all revved up about big market vs. small market discrepancies (I don't hate the Yankees and Red Sox because they have more money, I hate them because they're assholes), I think it's an awesome move to say "Yeah, this is probably more than these guys are worth, but we can afford it and it makes us better." Pretty sweet week to be an Angel fan, and with Pujols, Kendry Morales assuming he's ok, and Mark Trumbo now on board they have a pretty sweet trade chip which, if they're lucky, they can use to also persuade somebody to take Torii Hunter or Vernon Wells' contract. And now they have Wilson, Dan Haren, and Jered Weaver at the front of the rotation. Yeah, nice. I'd say this makes up for the Napoli thing.
2. Indiana Hoosiers. Well that was a pretty awesome game. Huge win for the Hoosiers, and they're definitely on the way back but I'm not convinced they're good. I mean really they shouldn't even have won that game but John Calipari was too busy counting his illegal monies to actually coach. Do you realize Indiana was down 2 with 6 seconds left and Kentucky had TWO fouls to give. So you wait until the guy catches the ball in the back court, let him get 2-3 dribbles down and foul. Then, when they take it out on the side, you waste another second and foul again, and at this point Indiana has like one second left and the ball out of bounds on the side at mid-court. Boom. You can choose to blame Calipari or you can choose to blame his players instead, but I contend that Calipari coached those players so IN YOUR FACE.
3. Michigan State Spartans. Pretty good weekend for the B1G 10 (outside of Ohio State) and Michigan State's win over Gonzaga in Spokane (or wherever the hell Gonzaga is) was a very good one. What I found most interesting was Draymond Green's line. Usually he's all like, I'm gonna grab a bunch of boards and dish some assists and score some points and just kind of facilitate the offense, but in this one he just took the hell over and scored 34 of their 75 points (no other Spartan hit double figures) and really didn't do anything else (2 rebs, 3 asst) and was like a completely different person than usual. I don't know if that's good or bad. Like one time I had this friend who was a huge drunk and he was hilarious but he drank like all the time and then he stopped drinking and we were like good for you that will make you so much healthier but then he wasn't funny any more and was kind of lame and I haven't talked to him in a long time.
4. Devoe Joseph. Royce White is probably the best player in the Big 12 (FACT!!), Justin Cobbs is a valuable member of Cal's almost certainly NCAA Tournament squad, and now Devoe makes his debut for Oregon and leads them in scoring with 18, throwing in 4 assists (to 1 TO) to boot. That's always fun. I'm fucking pissed at Devoe. I liked him too much for him to just turn his back on me like this, then show up with some west coast hippie dude looking sexier than ever. That was a metaphor. Also, because I don't know where else to put this and I can't remember my twitter password, I just want to mention that I'm alone in my basement and I'm choosing to watch The Next Iron Chef rather than football. Does that make me gay?
5. Rob Gronkowski. Do you remember how when you used to play Tecmo Super Bowl sometimes Christian Okoye would be in "excellent" condition and then when you'd run with him you'd actively look for defensive players to just run over and bounce them right the fuck out of the screen? That's like Gronky, he's just sick. Completely untackleable. It doesn't even matter if it's some pussy ass little safety or some big fat defensive lineman, nobody can bring this dude down. And he's not just some big bruiser, he's got hands that are baby soft. I once saw Randy Johnson whip an egg at his head at 98 mph and he just cradled it in and the thing didn't even break. Then he humped a porn star and when he was done she was all like "you're the best I've ever had" and he was all like "yeah don't call me." True story.
WHO SUCKED
1. Joe Webb Fans. Are you people serious? After a very nice day at the bar with Dawger and Bear (ps suck it $nake), I happened to be listening to the after game call-in show or whatever for the Vikings and I'm pretty sure people are completely out of their damn minds. Hosts and callers both, because there was apparently a for real debate about whether Webb or Ponder should be the Viking QB of the future. Guess what geniuses, Joe Webb sucks at throwing a football. Did you even watch the game? He was missing open receivers by five freaking yards and I'm not exaggerating. He's not Mike Vick bad or even Terrelle Pryor bad, he makes them look like me playing bar league football - dead on balls accurate. Yes he's fast. Fun. But Ponder might be an actual real life QB, even if that throw across the body crap was the worst throw in the history of football. Webb is a bit and you're dumb. You know damn well you love him, don't lie to me.
2. Creighton Blue Jays. Could be the return of the curse of DWG, or could just be that Creighton sucks balls because after getting out to a blistering start that actually had me complimenting a Missouri Valley team, Creighton sucked big-time this weekend getting rolled by St. Joseph's. Creighton allowed St. Joe's to shoot 49%, sent them to the line 29 times and got there just 9 themselves, and was out-rebounded 37-24. They also allowed someone named Carl Jones to score 29 points. I don't really have else to add since I don't really know that much about either team or care, but I did bet a decent amount on Creighton to win this one so I'm a little peeved.
3. Memphis Tigers. Speaking of betting oh my god I suck at betting so much when it's not props. How the hell could Memphis possibly lose to Murray State at home? Murray State isn't even good. They're not even mediocre, and that's why Memphis was an 11 point favorite but instead of winning by eleven they just flat out lost. Which made sense because I got raped like an Egyptian geisha this weekend. But really, could Pastnor have learned from Calipari any better? Recruit great athletes, stress defense, refuse to run anything remotely resembling a real offense and just hope your players can outplay your opponent - exactly like Kentucky these days. Too bad Murray State is boring and disciplined. I hate that shit.
4. Manchester United. Wow. Just wow. How do you lose to Basel, and how do you get knocked out in the Group Stage in Champions League? This is the first time since 2005 Man U hasn't made it to the knockout round. Also I told the swamp donkey to sock it before I gave her a trunky in the tradesman's entrance and had her lick my yarbles.
5. The Xavier/Cincy Fight. As someone who continually rips hockey because most of the "fans" of the "sport" care more about the fighting than the game I need to weight in here and say that the fight was stupid and dumb and stupid. But you know what's even more stupid? The people who are trying to blow this thing out of proportion and act like programs should be shut down and players should be kicked off teams. Yes, punching some ugly white dude in the head isn't a good thing and stomping on some guy who's already on the ground is probably not a resume builder, but this is the ugliest rivalry in college hoops and has been for years. The whole game (and pre-game really) was chippy and bitchy and you could see this shit coming when the refs didn't step in like asap. Yes, it's a black mark on the game but it's not like somebody was engaging in a little horseplay in the showers here so let's settle down. Also those people who are condemning Holloway for his "gangster" comment need to fucking relax. He's not saying they're Crips for christ's sake, it's called his vernacular. Relax, whitey.
By the way, this Tebow shit is ridiculous. Every week it's the same thing - suck badly and embarrassingly for 3.5 quarters and then tear shit up in the last 6 minutes. Once again it happened this week. When I left the bar the Broncos were down 10-0, the offense had done nothing, and Tebow had 45 yards passing. When I got home it turned out the Broncos won and Tebow threw for over 200 yards. I mean how does this shit happen every single week? It's crazy, and I gotta tell ya I think I've gone from Tebow hater to semi-on the bandwagon. Seriously if he wasn't silly religious I'd probably be all aboard, but who am I to question god? And if I was going to I'd probably start with the platypus anyway, then move on to general human misery and/or specific events like the holocaust or that tidal wave thing, and then eventually get to Tebow. That sentence kind of got away from me. Anyway, has there ever been such a lock for #2 in MVP voting? Every single writer is going to go Rodgers #1 and Tebow #2. And if they pick somebody other than Rodgers they're going to go that guy #1 and Tebow #2. He's going to finish in second with zero #1 votes. Right? Because nobody would voluntarily vote him #1, right? RIGHT?
Also I have $2 on Tebow to win MVP which would get me $200 so I'm on board. Choo choo.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Game Recap: Minnesota 67, Indiana 63
Reading through the comments on the gopherhole and star tribune's website, it seemed the majority of fans thought the loss of Devoe Joseph, confirmed to be leaving the program, wasn't that big a deal, no big loss, and that the team might even be better off without him. I hope tonight's game showed everyone how ludicrous that line of thinking is, because he was desperately needed tonight.
Sure, when the offense is running smoothly, and the set plays and motion are working, he can be a bit of a ballstop, and he's never going to win any defensive awards, this is all true. But when the opposing defense packs into a tight zone, daring you to shoot because you only have one reliable shooter, you need a guy like Devoe. When you want to run a deep bench, but your second line of guards is made up of three freshman, you need a guy like Devoe. And most importantly, when the plays aren't working, and nobody can get open, you need somebody who can get their own shot, and now the Gophers have as many players capable of that as I have here on my couch. Blake Hoffarber can shoot, but he doesn't have the athleticism to shake a defender one on one. Rodney Williams is athletic as hell (how awesome was that dunk in the second half by the way) but doesn't have the ball skills to get free, and Al Nolen isn't a good enough shooter. In short, this teams needs Devoe.
But whats done is done, and whats gone is gone. I'll hold any further Devoe thoughts for if/when more information is known, however, because despite this ugly, ugly win there is one guy who deserves an amazing amount of credit for his performance tonight, and that is the often maligned Al Nolen. Not to take anything away from Trevor Mbakwe, whose 11 pt, 16 rebound, 5 block night was the best statline, and who had several blocks that should end up on Sportscenter as well as playing great defense in holding Christian Watford to just four points, but this was Al's night.
His line is good: 14 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals with 2 turnovers (and those both game in first few minutes), but he was much more than that tonight. He was leader this team needs, the leader a senior point guard can be, and his effort and play in the second made me fall in love with him, and I've been huge Nolen detractor in the past.
You can never fault his effort or his defense, and those were full on display again tonight, as he pestered Verdell Jones from end to end, harassing him into several turnovers and generally taking him off his game, but that's not what really set him apart this evening. What he did was take his two biggest weaknesses - shooting, and driving into the lane without a plan - and turned them into strengths.
He was just 1-2 from three, and he still (thankfully) doesn't look for that shot often because he knows it's not something he excels at, but the one he did hit was huge. It gave the Gophers a 46-44 lead, and came right after Indiana had retaken the lead and stemmed some of the Gophers momentum. His miss was a very good shot, just a little strong and off the back iron, but more than anything, his reaction showed he was confident and it was going in, and so was I. As long as he has the confidence to shoot when open he can help keep defenses more honest, and he'll make enough of them where he isn't a liability.
The most impressive part of night, however, was his ability to score in the lane. He's never been able to not get to the lane because he is so quick, but tonight, rather than looking like he wasn't sure what he was going to do with the ball when he got there, he attacked the basket. He even had a move at one point that looked suspiciously like Dr. J's rock the baby move, and was far more successful than the Dream Shake Jeremiah Rivers tried at one point (which missed). He'll never be a great shooter or a great scorer, but he completely controlled the game on the offensive end despite taking just 8 shots and, as per usual, controlled the game on the defensive end as well.
So was it an ugly win? Yes. Should we be happy with it overall? Probably not, but a win is a win, they needed this one, and they got it. More importantly, we may have seen a new Al Nolen, one whose sudden improvement rivals what happened to Eric Harris from his junior to his senior year. It remains to be seen if this new style of play will keep up or was just a blip, but, if you couldn't tell, I'm thrilled. Keep it up, Al. Keep it up.
Sure, when the offense is running smoothly, and the set plays and motion are working, he can be a bit of a ballstop, and he's never going to win any defensive awards, this is all true. But when the opposing defense packs into a tight zone, daring you to shoot because you only have one reliable shooter, you need a guy like Devoe. When you want to run a deep bench, but your second line of guards is made up of three freshman, you need a guy like Devoe. And most importantly, when the plays aren't working, and nobody can get open, you need somebody who can get their own shot, and now the Gophers have as many players capable of that as I have here on my couch. Blake Hoffarber can shoot, but he doesn't have the athleticism to shake a defender one on one. Rodney Williams is athletic as hell (how awesome was that dunk in the second half by the way) but doesn't have the ball skills to get free, and Al Nolen isn't a good enough shooter. In short, this teams needs Devoe.
But whats done is done, and whats gone is gone. I'll hold any further Devoe thoughts for if/when more information is known, however, because despite this ugly, ugly win there is one guy who deserves an amazing amount of credit for his performance tonight, and that is the often maligned Al Nolen. Not to take anything away from Trevor Mbakwe, whose 11 pt, 16 rebound, 5 block night was the best statline, and who had several blocks that should end up on Sportscenter as well as playing great defense in holding Christian Watford to just four points, but this was Al's night.
His line is good: 14 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals with 2 turnovers (and those both game in first few minutes), but he was much more than that tonight. He was leader this team needs, the leader a senior point guard can be, and his effort and play in the second made me fall in love with him, and I've been huge Nolen detractor in the past.
You can never fault his effort or his defense, and those were full on display again tonight, as he pestered Verdell Jones from end to end, harassing him into several turnovers and generally taking him off his game, but that's not what really set him apart this evening. What he did was take his two biggest weaknesses - shooting, and driving into the lane without a plan - and turned them into strengths.
He was just 1-2 from three, and he still (thankfully) doesn't look for that shot often because he knows it's not something he excels at, but the one he did hit was huge. It gave the Gophers a 46-44 lead, and came right after Indiana had retaken the lead and stemmed some of the Gophers momentum. His miss was a very good shot, just a little strong and off the back iron, but more than anything, his reaction showed he was confident and it was going in, and so was I. As long as he has the confidence to shoot when open he can help keep defenses more honest, and he'll make enough of them where he isn't a liability.
The most impressive part of night, however, was his ability to score in the lane. He's never been able to not get to the lane because he is so quick, but tonight, rather than looking like he wasn't sure what he was going to do with the ball when he got there, he attacked the basket. He even had a move at one point that looked suspiciously like Dr. J's rock the baby move, and was far more successful than the Dream Shake Jeremiah Rivers tried at one point (which missed). He'll never be a great shooter or a great scorer, but he completely controlled the game on the offensive end despite taking just 8 shots and, as per usual, controlled the game on the defensive end as well.
So was it an ugly win? Yes. Should we be happy with it overall? Probably not, but a win is a win, they needed this one, and they got it. More importantly, we may have seen a new Al Nolen, one whose sudden improvement rivals what happened to Eric Harris from his junior to his senior year. It remains to be seen if this new style of play will keep up or was just a blip, but, if you couldn't tell, I'm thrilled. Keep it up, Al. Keep it up.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Gophers vs. Badgers: Live Blog
Seeing as how it's the opener of Big Ten play, I figured I might as well hanker down with my libration of choice and put some thoughts to paper. Well, to screen. You know what I mean. You don't always have to be so liberal.
20:00 - Ah, the Kohl Center, full of a bunch of retards dressed all in red. Did I ever tell you I was there for the Lawrence Westbrook game? So awesome. When he hit the shot to send the game to OT the entire place went silent, except for me, Bogart, and Dawger up in the upper deck who were pretty much losing our damn minds. Such a great time, especially later when Dawger slapped a piece of pizza out of some insolent jerks mouth. But that's neither here nor there, and not my story to tell.
20:00 - By the way, I'm just going to go ahead and admit I'm going to misspell Bruesewitz throughout this entire thing.
19:35 - Great defense by Ralph Sampson right off the bat forcing Jon Leuer into an airball, and he then gets the ball on the block, backs Leuer in, and scores on a nice hook shot. Great start for the big guy. It can be easy to take him for granite and concentrate on Mbakwe, Nolen, and Hoffarber, but Sampson is going to have to come up big if the Gophers want to grab an upset.
18:55 - Rodney Williams just fouled Keaton Nankivil on a 3-pointer, and he makes all three. Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb.
18:36 - Rodney makes up for it with a big dunk and the foul. He even makes the free throw which is pretty unexpected.
17:39 - Jordan Taylor and Leuer miss 28-footers on back-to-back possessions sandwiched around a missed Blake jumper. If they're going to keep taking those shots they can have them all night long.
16:57 - After Mbakwe picks the ball cleanly from Taylor (for serious), Nolen puts up a three-pointer early in the shot clock, hitting backboard before he hits anything else. Let's just keep the ball inside, ok? Like right there where Rodney gets it deep against Bruesewitcz where Rodney's athleticism makes it a complete mismatch.
15:23 - 7-7 as we go to the first timeout. If the Gophers continue to pound the ball inside they have a chance, and so far the switching man-to-man they're playing has worked well. I really wish Mo Walker wasn't hurt, because for those 10 minutes he gives per game he is a very quality player, and is particularly missed in a game like this where the Gophers need to get the ball in the paint as much as possible. Hopefully all he needs is a little tender love and care and he'll be back soon.
15:23 - You know who Mo reminds me a little bit of? Courtney James. I mean, Courtney was definitely better as a freshman, but I think Mo has that potential if he loses a bit of weight and works hard. Or, it might be easier just to get Courtney back. You know he has eligibility left. What's the statue of limitations on hitting somebody with a phone book, anyway?
15:12 - See what I'm saying? Get the ball inside to Mbakwe and Wa la! 2 points.
14:25 - Berggren hits a 18 footer and I guarantee this guy is going to be annoying as all hell the next two years. I don't understand why Wisconsin always has to have someone of his elk.
13:04 - Hoffarber from 28 feet. BANG! Gophers now lead 14-9. Man, I have really done a 360 when it comes to my opinion of the Hoff. Maybe it's because they have enough size, maybe it's because they have enough good defenders, or maybe Hoffarber has just developed a complete game this year, but I can't imagine this team without him. Although yes, he still makes me want to strangle a stranger watching his defense at times.
12:28 - Wisconsin missed three lay-ups. That boats well for the Gophers.
10:49 - Whoops, my comment about Walker earlier is now a mute point, because they just flashed the graphic that he's out for the season. Really a bummer. Hopefully he doesn't use eating and more eating to ease the pain. Not that I've ever done that. Shut up.
9:20 - Nolen with a rebound. That's two fantasy points. And Sampson misses a three. He's a little too much in love with that. Don't be a Rickert.
8:30 - Holy crap move there by Armelin. This guy is unbelievably athletic. He's the closest thing to Rico Tucker I've seen since Rico Tucker. Hopefully Tubby is a smart enough coach to give him a little bit of rope and won't bench him for every turnover the way Monson handled Tucker. He really just cut off his nose despite his face on that one, and it came back to haunt him. I mean, you know that's why he was fired, right? Mishandling the greatest Gopher prospect of all-time is a pretty big deal.
6:58 - 19-19 heading at the timeout. Jordan Taylor is starting to penetrate and then either score or find an open jumper for any of the plethora of white guys Wisconsin trots out. Gophers need to nip this in the butt before it gets out of control.
6:00 - I really don't understand how any of these guys from Minnesota could go to Wisconsin. What a bunch of traitor jerks. Wisconsin sucks and smells like venison and cheese and brandy and dumbness. Who would ever voluntarily move there for four years? There must be some really good french benefits we aren't aware of.
5:48 - Devoe cannot guard Taylor. At all. Tubby may need to go a "only rest Nolen when Taylor is on the bench strategy." Whatever, I'm sure he'll play it by year, but if Taylor can do whatever he wants all game things aren't going to go well.
4:11 - Devoe with a pull up three that hits nothing but the backboard. He then fouls Taylor on the drive, sending him to the line where he will undoubtedly make both. Really gunning for least valuable player here, aren't ya?
2:20 - Sampson with a nice little pump-fake from 18 feet out, getting Leuer off his feet and then a nice drive inside for a three-point play to cut Sconnie's lead to 3. That was badly needed.
1:49 - Gophers go to a zone, a move I really hate here because the Gophers suck at playing a zone. And, on queue, Leuer knocks down a three-pointer. If Wisconsin goes on a run here, Tubby is going to be this game's escape goat, and it will be well deserved. Going zone against these guys is loonacy.
35.6 - 33-27 Wisconsin, and it should have been more but the ball slipped out of Leuer's hand on a wide open layup. Irregardless, the Gophers are going to need to play better, and are going to need Al Nolen to stop Taylor if they want to win, let a lone stay in the game.
HALF - 33-29 at half thanks to a nice bounce pass by Armelin leading to a dunk by Iverson. Gophers are within reach, but their defense needs to get much better. They also kind of drifted away from pounding the ball in the paint on offense. If they can get back to getting the ball to the post on offense and get back to a man-to-man with Nolen on Taylor, they have a shot.
HALF - Arapaho of nothing, I'm a little bit annoyed by this Twins offseason thus far. The losses off the team far outweigh the gains, meanwhile the Tigers and White Sox have clearly improved their teams. And I don't really see any moves the Twins can make to really upgrade at this point. Thanks Mauer! We're now a third place team every year.
19:16 - Taylor blows by Nolen and finds Gasser for a lay-up, Nolen blows by Taylor and misses a layup, Taylor then finds Leuer for a three-pointer and it's now 38-29 Badgers. For all intensive purposes this game is over.
18:15 - Jordan Taylor is completely unguardable. Case and point, he just went right passed Nolen and then hit a jumper over Sampson who was just a half-second too slow jumping out. This really isn't fair.
16:56 - The Gophers have made 11 field goals tonight. Great. I mean, I could really care less how they score, and if they are scoring from the line that's great, but the offense has been pretty ugly tonight. Which, along with the defense makes a perfect pear.
13:35 - Badgers now up 45-36 and the Gophers are starting to miss a lot of open shots. Might be time to give up the goat on this one.
12:32 - I take it back, it's now just 45-41 after a Hoffarber three-pointer. Taylor called for a pretty clear blocking foul against Nolen, but announcer guy thinks it was a bad call. I'm pretty sure announcer guy is a complete jackwagon.
11:42 - Another three by Devoe hits nothing but backboard. I'm starting to think he might be the worst good shooter in America. Besides Scottie Reynolds.
10:40 - Joseph for three to cut it to 48-44. I'm like a reverse jinx tonight. Seriously this game is chalk full of examples where I rip somebody and then they do something good. And on that note, Rodney Williams sucks!
8:56 - Rodney with a great drive. He missed, but Mbakwe cleaned it up to cut it to 2. And then Tim freaking Jarmusz hits a three to make it 5. That's so stupid. This entire wisconsin team is nothing but two good players and a bunch of dandy little nancies who shoot three pointers every time they get the ball. It's like watching Michigan play. When the Badgers play the Wolverines there might not be a two-pointer attempted all game. Fairies.
6:56 - Gophers just took the lead on a great drive by Devoe who dished to Mbakwe for the dunk, now 54-53. I have no idea how Minnesota is leading in this game. My brain is literally exploding right now.
6:42 - So what's Wisconsin's answer after a timeout? A 27-footer by Leuer (which he missed). It's like Bo Ryan has completely lost his mind. I mean, there's no love loss between me and Bo, so I could care less, but it's just bizarre watching them completely disregard anything inside that line.
6:11 - Nankivil for three to give Wisconsin the lead back. These guys are so gay.
5:20 - Sigh. Sampson just sits there and let's Taylor hit a three. Awful defense. That was as easy as Taylor going to the corner and putting his PIN number into the ATM machine. Easy money.
5:10 - And Hoff throws it away. God damn it.
3:56 - That is now the third three pointer Joseph has put up that has hit nothing but backboard. You could go ahead and say I'm flummoxed by this, as well by the lack of playing time for Nolen. That is not helping my fantasy team Tubby.
2:00 - Nolen misses a runner and a lay-up, but Ralph's o-board and draw of the foul on Leuer mean he'll be shooting free throws with the Gophers down 3 when we get back. Please make them.
2:00 - Sampson makes just one, but the rebound on the second goes out-of-bound off Wisconsin. Time to get a bucket here.
1:38 - Nolen goes right by Sampson but misses the lay-up, offensive board to Ralph who is fouled. Big shots here.
1:38 - makes the first.
1:38 - misses the second, dammit. Gophers down by 1 right now, despite a 40-22 rebound margin. Everybody has said that the Gophers' poor free throw shooting would cost them, and now it's looking like those chickens might be coming home to roast.
1:10 - Taylor with a three point play. I really hate that guy. He's such a jack of all traits, and he always seems to kill the Gophers in the end.
52.4 - Sampson with a short jumper to pull the Gophers to within 2. It's not over yet, but I honestly have no faith in the Gophers to stop Wisconsin. I just don't think they're up to stuff.
18.3 - Nolen with great defense to force a miss by Taylor, but Leuer grabs the huge huge rebound. Watching that on replay, that is 100% Sampson's fault because Leuer straight up beat him into the lane. That was a huge play, and should have been completely avoidable. Just awful.
16.7 - Sampson fouls out to send Leuer to the line for a one-on-one in a 2 point game.
16.7 - makes both. Joseph puts the pedal to the medal but misses the shot, and a foul on the rebound by Nolen. Shit.
0:00 - Final score: Wisconsin 68, Minnesota 60. The Gophers played better than I thought and at several points were a hare's breath from taking control of this game, but just couldn't get it done. There are still some glaring on this team, and I don't know how many of them are fixable. We'll have to see how they rebound from an 0-2 start, because they have no chance at beating the Spartans on Friday.
I'm really bumped out right now.
20:00 - Ah, the Kohl Center, full of a bunch of retards dressed all in red. Did I ever tell you I was there for the Lawrence Westbrook game? So awesome. When he hit the shot to send the game to OT the entire place went silent, except for me, Bogart, and Dawger up in the upper deck who were pretty much losing our damn minds. Such a great time, especially later when Dawger slapped a piece of pizza out of some insolent jerks mouth. But that's neither here nor there, and not my story to tell.
20:00 - By the way, I'm just going to go ahead and admit I'm going to misspell Bruesewitz throughout this entire thing.
19:35 - Great defense by Ralph Sampson right off the bat forcing Jon Leuer into an airball, and he then gets the ball on the block, backs Leuer in, and scores on a nice hook shot. Great start for the big guy. It can be easy to take him for granite and concentrate on Mbakwe, Nolen, and Hoffarber, but Sampson is going to have to come up big if the Gophers want to grab an upset.
18:55 - Rodney Williams just fouled Keaton Nankivil on a 3-pointer, and he makes all three. Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb.
18:36 - Rodney makes up for it with a big dunk and the foul. He even makes the free throw which is pretty unexpected.
17:39 - Jordan Taylor and Leuer miss 28-footers on back-to-back possessions sandwiched around a missed Blake jumper. If they're going to keep taking those shots they can have them all night long.
16:57 - After Mbakwe picks the ball cleanly from Taylor (for serious), Nolen puts up a three-pointer early in the shot clock, hitting backboard before he hits anything else. Let's just keep the ball inside, ok? Like right there where Rodney gets it deep against Bruesewitcz where Rodney's athleticism makes it a complete mismatch.
15:23 - 7-7 as we go to the first timeout. If the Gophers continue to pound the ball inside they have a chance, and so far the switching man-to-man they're playing has worked well. I really wish Mo Walker wasn't hurt, because for those 10 minutes he gives per game he is a very quality player, and is particularly missed in a game like this where the Gophers need to get the ball in the paint as much as possible. Hopefully all he needs is a little tender love and care and he'll be back soon.
15:23 - You know who Mo reminds me a little bit of? Courtney James. I mean, Courtney was definitely better as a freshman, but I think Mo has that potential if he loses a bit of weight and works hard. Or, it might be easier just to get Courtney back. You know he has eligibility left. What's the statue of limitations on hitting somebody with a phone book, anyway?
15:12 - See what I'm saying? Get the ball inside to Mbakwe and Wa la! 2 points.
14:25 - Berggren hits a 18 footer and I guarantee this guy is going to be annoying as all hell the next two years. I don't understand why Wisconsin always has to have someone of his elk.
13:04 - Hoffarber from 28 feet. BANG! Gophers now lead 14-9. Man, I have really done a 360 when it comes to my opinion of the Hoff. Maybe it's because they have enough size, maybe it's because they have enough good defenders, or maybe Hoffarber has just developed a complete game this year, but I can't imagine this team without him. Although yes, he still makes me want to strangle a stranger watching his defense at times.
12:28 - Wisconsin missed three lay-ups. That boats well for the Gophers.
10:49 - Whoops, my comment about Walker earlier is now a mute point, because they just flashed the graphic that he's out for the season. Really a bummer. Hopefully he doesn't use eating and more eating to ease the pain. Not that I've ever done that. Shut up.
9:20 - Nolen with a rebound. That's two fantasy points. And Sampson misses a three. He's a little too much in love with that. Don't be a Rickert.
8:30 - Holy crap move there by Armelin. This guy is unbelievably athletic. He's the closest thing to Rico Tucker I've seen since Rico Tucker. Hopefully Tubby is a smart enough coach to give him a little bit of rope and won't bench him for every turnover the way Monson handled Tucker. He really just cut off his nose despite his face on that one, and it came back to haunt him. I mean, you know that's why he was fired, right? Mishandling the greatest Gopher prospect of all-time is a pretty big deal.
6:58 - 19-19 heading at the timeout. Jordan Taylor is starting to penetrate and then either score or find an open jumper for any of the plethora of white guys Wisconsin trots out. Gophers need to nip this in the butt before it gets out of control.
6:00 - I really don't understand how any of these guys from Minnesota could go to Wisconsin. What a bunch of traitor jerks. Wisconsin sucks and smells like venison and cheese and brandy and dumbness. Who would ever voluntarily move there for four years? There must be some really good french benefits we aren't aware of.
5:48 - Devoe cannot guard Taylor. At all. Tubby may need to go a "only rest Nolen when Taylor is on the bench strategy." Whatever, I'm sure he'll play it by year, but if Taylor can do whatever he wants all game things aren't going to go well.
4:11 - Devoe with a pull up three that hits nothing but the backboard. He then fouls Taylor on the drive, sending him to the line where he will undoubtedly make both. Really gunning for least valuable player here, aren't ya?
2:20 - Sampson with a nice little pump-fake from 18 feet out, getting Leuer off his feet and then a nice drive inside for a three-point play to cut Sconnie's lead to 3. That was badly needed.
1:49 - Gophers go to a zone, a move I really hate here because the Gophers suck at playing a zone. And, on queue, Leuer knocks down a three-pointer. If Wisconsin goes on a run here, Tubby is going to be this game's escape goat, and it will be well deserved. Going zone against these guys is loonacy.
35.6 - 33-27 Wisconsin, and it should have been more but the ball slipped out of Leuer's hand on a wide open layup. Irregardless, the Gophers are going to need to play better, and are going to need Al Nolen to stop Taylor if they want to win, let a lone stay in the game.
HALF - 33-29 at half thanks to a nice bounce pass by Armelin leading to a dunk by Iverson. Gophers are within reach, but their defense needs to get much better. They also kind of drifted away from pounding the ball in the paint on offense. If they can get back to getting the ball to the post on offense and get back to a man-to-man with Nolen on Taylor, they have a shot.
HALF - Arapaho of nothing, I'm a little bit annoyed by this Twins offseason thus far. The losses off the team far outweigh the gains, meanwhile the Tigers and White Sox have clearly improved their teams. And I don't really see any moves the Twins can make to really upgrade at this point. Thanks Mauer! We're now a third place team every year.
19:16 - Taylor blows by Nolen and finds Gasser for a lay-up, Nolen blows by Taylor and misses a layup, Taylor then finds Leuer for a three-pointer and it's now 38-29 Badgers. For all intensive purposes this game is over.
18:15 - Jordan Taylor is completely unguardable. Case and point, he just went right passed Nolen and then hit a jumper over Sampson who was just a half-second too slow jumping out. This really isn't fair.
16:56 - The Gophers have made 11 field goals tonight. Great. I mean, I could really care less how they score, and if they are scoring from the line that's great, but the offense has been pretty ugly tonight. Which, along with the defense makes a perfect pear.
13:35 - Badgers now up 45-36 and the Gophers are starting to miss a lot of open shots. Might be time to give up the goat on this one.
12:32 - I take it back, it's now just 45-41 after a Hoffarber three-pointer. Taylor called for a pretty clear blocking foul against Nolen, but announcer guy thinks it was a bad call. I'm pretty sure announcer guy is a complete jackwagon.
11:42 - Another three by Devoe hits nothing but backboard. I'm starting to think he might be the worst good shooter in America. Besides Scottie Reynolds.
10:40 - Joseph for three to cut it to 48-44. I'm like a reverse jinx tonight. Seriously this game is chalk full of examples where I rip somebody and then they do something good. And on that note, Rodney Williams sucks!
8:56 - Rodney with a great drive. He missed, but Mbakwe cleaned it up to cut it to 2. And then Tim freaking Jarmusz hits a three to make it 5. That's so stupid. This entire wisconsin team is nothing but two good players and a bunch of dandy little nancies who shoot three pointers every time they get the ball. It's like watching Michigan play. When the Badgers play the Wolverines there might not be a two-pointer attempted all game. Fairies.
6:56 - Gophers just took the lead on a great drive by Devoe who dished to Mbakwe for the dunk, now 54-53. I have no idea how Minnesota is leading in this game. My brain is literally exploding right now.
6:42 - So what's Wisconsin's answer after a timeout? A 27-footer by Leuer (which he missed). It's like Bo Ryan has completely lost his mind. I mean, there's no love loss between me and Bo, so I could care less, but it's just bizarre watching them completely disregard anything inside that line.
6:11 - Nankivil for three to give Wisconsin the lead back. These guys are so gay.
5:20 - Sigh. Sampson just sits there and let's Taylor hit a three. Awful defense. That was as easy as Taylor going to the corner and putting his PIN number into the ATM machine. Easy money.
5:10 - And Hoff throws it away. God damn it.
3:56 - That is now the third three pointer Joseph has put up that has hit nothing but backboard. You could go ahead and say I'm flummoxed by this, as well by the lack of playing time for Nolen. That is not helping my fantasy team Tubby.
2:00 - Nolen misses a runner and a lay-up, but Ralph's o-board and draw of the foul on Leuer mean he'll be shooting free throws with the Gophers down 3 when we get back. Please make them.
2:00 - Sampson makes just one, but the rebound on the second goes out-of-bound off Wisconsin. Time to get a bucket here.
1:38 - Nolen goes right by Sampson but misses the lay-up, offensive board to Ralph who is fouled. Big shots here.
1:38 - makes the first.
1:38 - misses the second, dammit. Gophers down by 1 right now, despite a 40-22 rebound margin. Everybody has said that the Gophers' poor free throw shooting would cost them, and now it's looking like those chickens might be coming home to roast.
1:10 - Taylor with a three point play. I really hate that guy. He's such a jack of all traits, and he always seems to kill the Gophers in the end.
52.4 - Sampson with a short jumper to pull the Gophers to within 2. It's not over yet, but I honestly have no faith in the Gophers to stop Wisconsin. I just don't think they're up to stuff.
18.3 - Nolen with great defense to force a miss by Taylor, but Leuer grabs the huge huge rebound. Watching that on replay, that is 100% Sampson's fault because Leuer straight up beat him into the lane. That was a huge play, and should have been completely avoidable. Just awful.
16.7 - Sampson fouls out to send Leuer to the line for a one-on-one in a 2 point game.
16.7 - makes both. Joseph puts the pedal to the medal but misses the shot, and a foul on the rebound by Nolen. Shit.
0:00 - Final score: Wisconsin 68, Minnesota 60. The Gophers played better than I thought and at several points were a hare's breath from taking control of this game, but just couldn't get it done. There are still some glaring on this team, and I don't know how many of them are fixable. We'll have to see how they rebound from an 0-2 start, because they have no chance at beating the Spartans on Friday.
I'm really bumped out right now.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Minnesota Gophers 83, St. Joseph's Hawks 73
Well it wasn't exactly pretty and didn't really cement the Gophers as a top 25 team, but a win is a win, a road win is always good, and not losing to a terrible terrible terrible team is even better. St. Joe's hit 9 threes to stay in the game, which is too high, but shot just 31% because they had to hoist 29 attempts just to make those 9 trey-balls. A cynic would say that St. Joe's really should have made more because they kept getting open look after open look, but are just a poor shooting team. And that's exactly what I say. The perimeter defense is still terrible, but at least they got a win. I'm going to just jump ahead to the player-by-player comments here before I get way too negative after a win. And yes, I was the kind of sucker who paid cash money so I could watch this game.
Devoe Joseph (19 pts, 3 assists, 4-6 on threes): Those of you out there who complain about him not moving the ball enough or trying to do too much on his own, I'm very sorry to tell you this, but you are idiots. He's not a point guard, he's a shooting guard being forced to play point, so naturally he's not going to be a elite distributor. He's a pure scorer, and he hit a couple of huge threes down the stretch to make sure the Gophers didn't lose this game. Once again, stop complaining about him. If you don't I will come to your house hit you in the balls with a tiny hammer.
Ralph Sampson (10 pts, 5 rebs): Pretty ugly overall for Ralph, whether because CJ Aiken is a good defender or because his dad was in attendance and sending weird satan vibes his way I couldn't tell you, but he did seem to perk up in the second half of the second half, and just in time. He hit a couple of very nice buckets late right as St. Joe's was attempting to make a run, and he still looks so insanely smooth (think Rob Thomas featuring Santana) out there, but this tendency to shrink when he finds resistance is troubling. As a freshman it's almost expected, but as a junior I'm a little bit irritated.
Rodney Williams (2 pts, 1 reb): Maybe the worst game he's played. Got in foul trouble early and ended up playing just 8 minutes. Let's move on.
Blake Hoffarber (14 pts, 3 assists, 4-6 on threes): He still leaves a lot to be desired on the defensive end - both on and off the ball - but when he came up limping after hitting a three-pointer in the first half you can bet I was holding my breath in horror (just like at the end of the Blair Witch Project, which I don't care who you are if you didn't think that was scary in the theater you're either a liar or a moron). He's just such a steadying influence on this team, not to mention he's shooting out of his head this year, and for him that's saying something. I can't get over how much he means to this team. I never, ever imagined myself saying that.
Trevor Mbakwe (12 points, 16 rebounds): Player of the game, which is something I have a feeling we're going to be saying a lot. He nearly had a double-double at half time and kind of faded a bit, and he shot a brutal 16-footer early in the game that reminded everyone why he shouldn't be wandering outside of the paint very often, but he's just such a POWER FORWARD. I love it. It's like a regular player ate one of those magic mushrooms from Mario Brothers, he's just a beast. Here's an awesome summary from the game play-by-play:
Awesome. It would have been better if he scored instead of turned the ball over, of course, but still awesome.
Maurice Walker (10 points, 5 rebs, 4 assists): The night belonged to Mo, who not only put up some excellent numbers but displayed enthusiasm and emotion (and effort) he hadn't really shown yet this year. He was demanding the ball in the post, scoring when it was there and finding open teammates when it wasn't, and then yelling, chest-pounding, and generally whooping it up out there. It was unreal from somebody who seemed disinterested a large chunk of the year thus far. Seriously it was like Taco Bell announced they were going to an all-you-can-eat business model.
Chip Armelin (4 points, 4 rebs): Not to overstate things, but this guy is amazing to watch. He never, ever stops moving, and when the Gopher offense does that stupid crap when it stagnates and everybody looks lost having a guy who likes to run from baseline-to-baseline for fun can be a major asset, and that's what he did when St. Joe's went zone. His numbers don't look all that great, but he is a major component of this team and a huge part of how well the offense plays on any given night.
Austin Hollins (6 pts, 4 assists, 4 steals): Steady. Guy is just steady, which is a major compliment for a freshman. Other than a semi-flashy steal late and perhaps one of the worst air-balled wide open three-pointers in the history of basketball he pretty much went unnoticed. Maybe it's his play, or maybe it's because I was watching a crappy internet feed while holding a screaming baby and trying to get WonderbabyTM to stop throwing Teddy Grahams at the dragons on the TV, but I just don't take much notice of him. Much like that baby I just mentioned. Dude is just steady. Like Eddie.
Colton Iverson (0 pts, 3 rebs): Outside of those statues on Easter Island that were obviously put there by aliens or time travelers, I've never seen anybody or anything so effective at just taking up space. There will be teams he just can't play against due to his physical limitations (which would be moving at relatively the same speed as those same statues), but St. Joe's ain't one of 'em.
Maverick Ahanmisi (6 pts): This is way up on the list of things I wasn't expecting to say at any point in the next four years, but Mav looked quite good out there today. Not that this is a huge bar here, but I think he already looks like a better player than Justin Cobbs. Now, we haven't gotten into conference play yet so things can change, but swapping Cobbsy for Maverick looks pretty good to me right now.
Lastly, here is the link to this week's Star Tribune Big 10 Power Poll as presented by Myron P. Medcalf. Check it out for the overall rankings.
Here is the ballot I submitted (remember this is through Tuesday's games):
1. Ohio State Buckeyes - They haven't played since the last poll, but nobody can convince me there's a better Big Ten team.
2. Michigan State Spartans - Definitely in the upper tier with Ohio State, but if this was anybody other than the Spartans with their reputation for slow starts and runs in March, I'd be very concerned with their inability to beat any top-flight teams.
3. Illiinois Fighting Illini - A very nice win over Gonzaga shows the Illini's early season struggles are behind them, they are deep and are seemingly getting better every time out - a scary proposition.
4. Purdue Boilermakers - It feels like they're struggling, but really the loss to Richmond is the only blip on their schedule. Wins last week at Virginia Tech and vs. Alabama might not be exactly marquee, but they are quality.
5. Wisconsin Badgers - It might have been a fluke, but NC State should be a bubble team at worst this year and Wisconsin throttled them by 40. Jon Leuer might very well be the best player in the conference.
6. Northwestern Wildcats - The only undefeated team in the conference other than Ohio State, Northwestern has handled their business against inferior opponents. Unfortunately the schedule is empty as can be until Big Ten play starts, so we won't really be able to get a handle on how good Northwestern is until then.
7. Minnesota Gophers - The loss to Virginia and narrow win over Cornell exposed some pretty big weaknesses in the Gophers. It's tough to say how things would look if Al Nolen wasn't hurt,
8. Michigan Wolverines - I still think people are sleeping on the Wolverines a bit. That win over Clemson is a good one, and . Darius Morris is the real deal, if they get anything out of their front court (and Jordan Morgan suddenly looks interesting) they could shock a team or two.
9. Indiana Hoosiers -The record looks nice at 7-1, but those seven wins were against teams with a combined 12 wins against Division I teams combined - not exactly murderer's row. Let's see how they fare against Kentucky on Saturday, that will let us know if we need to pay attention or not.
10. Penn State Nittany Lions - Saturday's win over Duquesne is decent, but the Nittany Lions still need to get a big win - they've whiffed against Ole Miss and Maryland so far. Sunday's game against Virginia Tech is their last chance before conference play, but getting taken to the wire by Mount St. Mary's doesn't bode well for their chances..
11. Iowa Hawkeyes - The win over Northern Iowa pulls them closer to leaving the cellar. Too bad UNI is way down this year.
Actually I'm kind of thinking this is separating itself into tiers pretty clearly. You have the Spartans and Buckeyes in a class by themselves at the top, with Illinois a half-step below. Then Purdue, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Northwestern in another tier. Below them is Michigan and Indiana, and then in a final, sad tier is Penn State and Iowa. Obviously there could be some shifting here and there, but it's pretty clear to me where the teams separate themselves from each other.
Did you know mannequins don't have a weiner?
Devoe Joseph (19 pts, 3 assists, 4-6 on threes): Those of you out there who complain about him not moving the ball enough or trying to do too much on his own, I'm very sorry to tell you this, but you are idiots. He's not a point guard, he's a shooting guard being forced to play point, so naturally he's not going to be a elite distributor. He's a pure scorer, and he hit a couple of huge threes down the stretch to make sure the Gophers didn't lose this game. Once again, stop complaining about him. If you don't I will come to your house hit you in the balls with a tiny hammer.
Ralph Sampson (10 pts, 5 rebs): Pretty ugly overall for Ralph, whether because CJ Aiken is a good defender or because his dad was in attendance and sending weird satan vibes his way I couldn't tell you, but he did seem to perk up in the second half of the second half, and just in time. He hit a couple of very nice buckets late right as St. Joe's was attempting to make a run, and he still looks so insanely smooth (think Rob Thomas featuring Santana) out there, but this tendency to shrink when he finds resistance is troubling. As a freshman it's almost expected, but as a junior I'm a little bit irritated.
Rodney Williams (2 pts, 1 reb): Maybe the worst game he's played. Got in foul trouble early and ended up playing just 8 minutes. Let's move on.
Blake Hoffarber (14 pts, 3 assists, 4-6 on threes): He still leaves a lot to be desired on the defensive end - both on and off the ball - but when he came up limping after hitting a three-pointer in the first half you can bet I was holding my breath in horror (just like at the end of the Blair Witch Project, which I don't care who you are if you didn't think that was scary in the theater you're either a liar or a moron). He's just such a steadying influence on this team, not to mention he's shooting out of his head this year, and for him that's saying something. I can't get over how much he means to this team. I never, ever imagined myself saying that.
Trevor Mbakwe (12 points, 16 rebounds): Player of the game, which is something I have a feeling we're going to be saying a lot. He nearly had a double-double at half time and kind of faded a bit, and he shot a brutal 16-footer early in the game that reminded everyone why he shouldn't be wandering outside of the paint very often, but he's just such a POWER FORWARD. I love it. It's like a regular player ate one of those magic mushrooms from Mario Brothers, he's just a beast. Here's an awesome summary from the game play-by-play:
Maurice Walker (10 points, 5 rebs, 4 assists): The night belonged to Mo, who not only put up some excellent numbers but displayed enthusiasm and emotion (and effort) he hadn't really shown yet this year. He was demanding the ball in the post, scoring when it was there and finding open teammates when it wasn't, and then yelling, chest-pounding, and generally whooping it up out there. It was unreal from somebody who seemed disinterested a large chunk of the year thus far. Seriously it was like Taco Bell announced they were going to an all-you-can-eat business model.
Chip Armelin (4 points, 4 rebs): Not to overstate things, but this guy is amazing to watch. He never, ever stops moving, and when the Gopher offense does that stupid crap when it stagnates and everybody looks lost having a guy who likes to run from baseline-to-baseline for fun can be a major asset, and that's what he did when St. Joe's went zone. His numbers don't look all that great, but he is a major component of this team and a huge part of how well the offense plays on any given night.
Austin Hollins (6 pts, 4 assists, 4 steals): Steady. Guy is just steady, which is a major compliment for a freshman. Other than a semi-flashy steal late and perhaps one of the worst air-balled wide open three-pointers in the history of basketball he pretty much went unnoticed. Maybe it's his play, or maybe it's because I was watching a crappy internet feed while holding a screaming baby and trying to get WonderbabyTM to stop throwing Teddy Grahams at the dragons on the TV, but I just don't take much notice of him. Much like that baby I just mentioned. Dude is just steady. Like Eddie.
Colton Iverson (0 pts, 3 rebs): Outside of those statues on Easter Island that were obviously put there by aliens or time travelers, I've never seen anybody or anything so effective at just taking up space. There will be teams he just can't play against due to his physical limitations (which would be moving at relatively the same speed as those same statues), but St. Joe's ain't one of 'em.
Maverick Ahanmisi (6 pts): This is way up on the list of things I wasn't expecting to say at any point in the next four years, but Mav looked quite good out there today. Not that this is a huge bar here, but I think he already looks like a better player than Justin Cobbs. Now, we haven't gotten into conference play yet so things can change, but swapping Cobbsy for Maverick looks pretty good to me right now.
Lastly, here is the link to this week's Star Tribune Big 10 Power Poll as presented by Myron P. Medcalf. Check it out for the overall rankings.
Here is the ballot I submitted (remember this is through Tuesday's games):
1. Ohio State Buckeyes - They haven't played since the last poll, but nobody can convince me there's a better Big Ten team.
2. Michigan State Spartans - Definitely in the upper tier with Ohio State, but if this was anybody other than the Spartans with their reputation for slow starts and runs in March, I'd be very concerned with their inability to beat any top-flight teams.
3. Illiinois Fighting Illini - A very nice win over Gonzaga shows the Illini's early season struggles are behind them, they are deep and are seemingly getting better every time out - a scary proposition.
4. Purdue Boilermakers - It feels like they're struggling, but really the loss to Richmond is the only blip on their schedule. Wins last week at Virginia Tech and vs. Alabama might not be exactly marquee, but they are quality.
5. Wisconsin Badgers - It might have been a fluke, but NC State should be a bubble team at worst this year and Wisconsin throttled them by 40. Jon Leuer might very well be the best player in the conference.
6. Northwestern Wildcats - The only undefeated team in the conference other than Ohio State, Northwestern has handled their business against inferior opponents. Unfortunately the schedule is empty as can be until Big Ten play starts, so we won't really be able to get a handle on how good Northwestern is until then.
7. Minnesota Gophers - The loss to Virginia and narrow win over Cornell exposed some pretty big weaknesses in the Gophers. It's tough to say how things would look if Al Nolen wasn't hurt,
8. Michigan Wolverines - I still think people are sleeping on the Wolverines a bit. That win over Clemson is a good one, and . Darius Morris is the real deal, if they get anything out of their front court (and Jordan Morgan suddenly looks interesting) they could shock a team or two.
9. Indiana Hoosiers -The record looks nice at 7-1, but those seven wins were against teams with a combined 12 wins against Division I teams combined - not exactly murderer's row. Let's see how they fare against Kentucky on Saturday, that will let us know if we need to pay attention or not.
10. Penn State Nittany Lions - Saturday's win over Duquesne is decent, but the Nittany Lions still need to get a big win - they've whiffed against Ole Miss and Maryland so far. Sunday's game against Virginia Tech is their last chance before conference play, but getting taken to the wire by Mount St. Mary's doesn't bode well for their chances..
11. Iowa Hawkeyes - The win over Northern Iowa pulls them closer to leaving the cellar. Too bad UNI is way down this year.
Actually I'm kind of thinking this is separating itself into tiers pretty clearly. You have the Spartans and Buckeyes in a class by themselves at the top, with Illinois a half-step below. Then Purdue, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Northwestern in another tier. Below them is Michigan and Indiana, and then in a final, sad tier is Penn State and Iowa. Obviously there could be some shifting here and there, but it's pretty clear to me where the teams separate themselves from each other.
Did you know mannequins don't have a weiner?
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Minnesota Golden Gophers Basketball: Upcoming Opponents (+ Devoe Joseph opinion)
After a couple quick appetizers of exhibition games, the Minnesota Gophers basketball team finally gets things underway with a quick couple of games against quality mid-major opponents in the Wofford Terriers tonight and the Siena Saints on Monday. Since I am going out of town this weekend for a much needed vacation away from the kids I won't be computering at all, so I might as well fire up two previews for the price of one. We love to give out sweet deals like that here at DWG, particularly on all your stationery or invitation needs (look to the right).
I'll start with Wofford, since they're first and that's a logical way to do things. The Terriers may be the Gophers' stiffest test that doesn't take place in Puerto Rico this offseason, because this team is very solid. They return four starters from last year's SoCon Champion team, a team that won 26 games last year and almost knocked off Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last year and almost beat Pitt in last year's season opener.
Most importantly amongst those returning starters is Minnesota-boy Noah Dahlman, the SoCon player of the year last season after 17 points and 6 rebounds per game while shooting 58% from the floor. He's an absolute brute who never stops working on the glass, and because of that relentlessness he's almost impossible to shut down (he's scored in double-figures 48 straight games). Unless he's added a jump shot in the offseason his range doesn't extend beyond the paint, and that should play well for the Gophers. He won't be able to out-muscle Colt Iverson or Trevor Mbakwe, and even if he can push Ralph around a little he's still got the reach on Dahlman. Wisconsin and Illinois both kept him in check last season (10 and 5, 13 and 2), and I expect the Gophers to do the same.
Dahlman is the only returnee who averaged more than 9.5 points per game last year, so there's no one player to focus on outside of him, but Wofford won a lot of games with their defense last year, ranking 41st in the country in defensive efficiency. Luckily for the Gophers, however, they come by that ranking mainly by defending the three well (not a key for the Gophers outside of Blake) and keeping teams off their offensive boards (not something the Gophers rely on). Most of all, I had the opportunity to watch Wofford play against Wisconsin as well as in the SoCon Championship against Appalachian State. They are slow. S-L-O-W. They caught a huge break getting Wisconsin in last year's tournament because both their pace of play and overabundance of non-athletically gifted white dudes helped Wofford to keep pace. That won't happen against Minnesota tonight. Wofford is a good team, but the Gophers shouldn't have any issues here.
Minnesota 71, Wofford 53.
Now we move on to a mini-Mid-Major dynasty in Monday's opponent, the Siena Saints. Siena has made the last three NCAA Tournaments, notching wins over Ohio State and Vanderbilt, but have some big shoes to fill - they lose last year's national assist leader in Ronald Moore, last year's MAAC player of the year in Alex Franklin, and maybe the best all-around player in program history in Edwin Ubiles - not to mention their coach Fran McCaffery who has gone on to national basketball power and totally good situation Iowa.
That's not to say the cupboard is bare, because the Saints return two absolutely excellent in players in 6-9 forward Ryan Rossiter and 6-4 guard Clarence Jackson - either of whom could end up winning the MAAC Player of the Year Award.
Rossiter, one of the goofiest looking mofos you're ever going to see, averaged 14 points and 11 rebounds per game last season, to go along with 1 steal, assist, and block. He's a smart player who uses an almost plastic-man type body to get himself into great position, and is one of the best offensive rebounders in the country. He doesn't have the size to bang with Iverson or Mbakwe or even Sampson, but he's smart and he's crafty. If Iverson starts on him I'd expect Colt to spend a good amount of time in foul trouble.
Jackson, who averaged 14 points per game last year, is a dynamic scorer who can hit from the outside (71 threes last year led the team) and can also put the ball on the floor and get to the rim. He's streaky, and can be shut down (11 games in single-digits) but he can also explode (9 games over 20 points). It would behoove the Gophers to not let Jackson get off, because he's the type that could single-handedly win a game for the Saints. Since he's probably a little bit too big for Al Nolen to take one-on-one, this could be a great chance for Rodney Williams to show that he can be a defensive stopper. He was the physical tools for it, so this could be a great test if he gets the matchup.
Outside of those guys Siena is a great big pile of unknown, since Jackson, Rossiter, and the three departed starters from last year made up 77% of the team's minutes played and 85% of their points scored. I'm sure there is talent there somewhere since McCaffery had created a bit of a mini-dynasty and that recruiting area is rich with potential hidden gems, but if the Gophers can shut down at least one of the Jackson/Rossiter duo they should have little trouble with the Saints. If this was last year I would be concerned, but since this team is in flux and has a new coach, I'm confident in the Gophers.
Also I want to mention that the Saints have a player named Just-in'love Smith. Ouch.
Minnesota 76, Siena 65
[Since I posted this I saw on Twitter that Devoe is suspended indefinitely due to non-academic off the court issues, and won't be playing until at least after Puerto Rico.
Snacks has since texted me that he "hates Tubby" and "hopes Devoe transfers." I'm not quite to that point, but it is rather frustrating how the Gophers are constantly dealing with off the court issues. Either Tubby is far too strict or he recruits nothing but headcases, either way this is hardly a ringing endorsement of the coach. No matter how you feel about the issue or whose feet you choose to lay the blame at, this clearly sucks ass. Once again a promising Gopher season is starting under a dark cloud.
I'll reserve further judgment until we know more (if we ever do), but it's time for the University to decide if it wants to be a basketball school or not I'm not saying they should let athletes get away with murder, but at UNLV Tre'Von Willis choked his girlfriend and got three games. At Michigan State Korie Lucious was busted for drunk driving and got just one game. At Memphis Jelan Kendrick missed a few practices after threatening his teammates, and it's looking like Lace Dunn might not miss any games at Baylor despite being arrested for domestic assault. And Devoe is going to miss at least five games for something that will likely be in the realm of skipping class or smoking a j.
Look, I understand some people's need to believe that their University "does things the right way" and "doesn't put up with any crap" and "only recruits good kids." I do. And that's all well and good, but, with all due respect to those of that view point, Fuck that. I don't give a crap what Devoe does in his spare time, and if he graduates or not is really the thing I care about least in the entire world. I want him to play ball, and I want my team to win games and I don't care how they do it or whether or not the players still call their mothers every week like good little boys or if they go to church every Sunday. I don't care about that, I just want to win, baby. Royce White was already run off, and Trevor Mbakwe almost followed him. Who's next?]
I'll start with Wofford, since they're first and that's a logical way to do things. The Terriers may be the Gophers' stiffest test that doesn't take place in Puerto Rico this offseason, because this team is very solid. They return four starters from last year's SoCon Champion team, a team that won 26 games last year and almost knocked off Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last year and almost beat Pitt in last year's season opener.
Most importantly amongst those returning starters is Minnesota-boy Noah Dahlman, the SoCon player of the year last season after 17 points and 6 rebounds per game while shooting 58% from the floor. He's an absolute brute who never stops working on the glass, and because of that relentlessness he's almost impossible to shut down (he's scored in double-figures 48 straight games). Unless he's added a jump shot in the offseason his range doesn't extend beyond the paint, and that should play well for the Gophers. He won't be able to out-muscle Colt Iverson or Trevor Mbakwe, and even if he can push Ralph around a little he's still got the reach on Dahlman. Wisconsin and Illinois both kept him in check last season (10 and 5, 13 and 2), and I expect the Gophers to do the same.
Dahlman is the only returnee who averaged more than 9.5 points per game last year, so there's no one player to focus on outside of him, but Wofford won a lot of games with their defense last year, ranking 41st in the country in defensive efficiency. Luckily for the Gophers, however, they come by that ranking mainly by defending the three well (not a key for the Gophers outside of Blake) and keeping teams off their offensive boards (not something the Gophers rely on). Most of all, I had the opportunity to watch Wofford play against Wisconsin as well as in the SoCon Championship against Appalachian State. They are slow. S-L-O-W. They caught a huge break getting Wisconsin in last year's tournament because both their pace of play and overabundance of non-athletically gifted white dudes helped Wofford to keep pace. That won't happen against Minnesota tonight. Wofford is a good team, but the Gophers shouldn't have any issues here.
Minnesota 71, Wofford 53.
Now we move on to a mini-Mid-Major dynasty in Monday's opponent, the Siena Saints. Siena has made the last three NCAA Tournaments, notching wins over Ohio State and Vanderbilt, but have some big shoes to fill - they lose last year's national assist leader in Ronald Moore, last year's MAAC player of the year in Alex Franklin, and maybe the best all-around player in program history in Edwin Ubiles - not to mention their coach Fran McCaffery who has gone on to national basketball power and totally good situation Iowa.
That's not to say the cupboard is bare, because the Saints return two absolutely excellent in players in 6-9 forward Ryan Rossiter and 6-4 guard Clarence Jackson - either of whom could end up winning the MAAC Player of the Year Award.
Rossiter, one of the goofiest looking mofos you're ever going to see, averaged 14 points and 11 rebounds per game last season, to go along with 1 steal, assist, and block. He's a smart player who uses an almost plastic-man type body to get himself into great position, and is one of the best offensive rebounders in the country. He doesn't have the size to bang with Iverson or Mbakwe or even Sampson, but he's smart and he's crafty. If Iverson starts on him I'd expect Colt to spend a good amount of time in foul trouble.
Jackson, who averaged 14 points per game last year, is a dynamic scorer who can hit from the outside (71 threes last year led the team) and can also put the ball on the floor and get to the rim. He's streaky, and can be shut down (11 games in single-digits) but he can also explode (9 games over 20 points). It would behoove the Gophers to not let Jackson get off, because he's the type that could single-handedly win a game for the Saints. Since he's probably a little bit too big for Al Nolen to take one-on-one, this could be a great chance for Rodney Williams to show that he can be a defensive stopper. He was the physical tools for it, so this could be a great test if he gets the matchup.
Outside of those guys Siena is a great big pile of unknown, since Jackson, Rossiter, and the three departed starters from last year made up 77% of the team's minutes played and 85% of their points scored. I'm sure there is talent there somewhere since McCaffery had created a bit of a mini-dynasty and that recruiting area is rich with potential hidden gems, but if the Gophers can shut down at least one of the Jackson/Rossiter duo they should have little trouble with the Saints. If this was last year I would be concerned, but since this team is in flux and has a new coach, I'm confident in the Gophers.
Also I want to mention that the Saints have a player named Just-in'love Smith. Ouch.
Minnesota 76, Siena 65
[Since I posted this I saw on Twitter that Devoe is suspended indefinitely due to non-academic off the court issues, and won't be playing until at least after Puerto Rico.
Snacks has since texted me that he "hates Tubby" and "hopes Devoe transfers." I'm not quite to that point, but it is rather frustrating how the Gophers are constantly dealing with off the court issues. Either Tubby is far too strict or he recruits nothing but headcases, either way this is hardly a ringing endorsement of the coach. No matter how you feel about the issue or whose feet you choose to lay the blame at, this clearly sucks ass. Once again a promising Gopher season is starting under a dark cloud.
I'll reserve further judgment until we know more (if we ever do), but it's time for the University to decide if it wants to be a basketball school or not I'm not saying they should let athletes get away with murder, but at UNLV Tre'Von Willis choked his girlfriend and got three games. At Michigan State Korie Lucious was busted for drunk driving and got just one game. At Memphis Jelan Kendrick missed a few practices after threatening his teammates, and it's looking like Lace Dunn might not miss any games at Baylor despite being arrested for domestic assault. And Devoe is going to miss at least five games for something that will likely be in the realm of skipping class or smoking a j.
Look, I understand some people's need to believe that their University "does things the right way" and "doesn't put up with any crap" and "only recruits good kids." I do. And that's all well and good, but, with all due respect to those of that view point, Fuck that. I don't give a crap what Devoe does in his spare time, and if he graduates or not is really the thing I care about least in the entire world. I want him to play ball, and I want my team to win games and I don't care how they do it or whether or not the players still call their mothers every week like good little boys or if they go to church every Sunday. I don't care about that, I just want to win, baby. Royce White was already run off, and Trevor Mbakwe almost followed him. Who's next?]
Friday, November 5, 2010
Minnesota Gopher Basketball 2010: Player outlook
Much like Tom Cullen I managed to survive Captain Trips, and I also managed to watch the game against Northeastern State on replay on the Big Ten Network (well, three-quarters of it because after that it was like yawn), so here are some thoughts about the players who matter for the year. Overall, I really think this has a chance to be a very, very special season. M-O-O-N, that spells Go Gophers.
Maverick Ahanmisi: He looked pretty shaky in Canada, but was better against NE St. Early reports made it seem as if he couldn't dribble with his left hand or kept dribbling off his foot or couldn't play point guard, but he didn't look like he was a complete waste. If he ends up playing a lot of significant minutes that won't be good, but I'm cautiously optimistic he might be an ok back-up by the end of his time here.
Chip Armelin: The latest Gopher freshman signing for the class and reportedly the most athletic, he looks exactly as advertised - incredible athlete and a bit of a project. He showed he has a pretty good looking jump shot and is definitely a great athlete, but he was also out of position a ton on defense - mainly because he can't seem to harness his energy and is a bit of a spaz. Dare I say it, but he reminded me quite a bit of Rico Tucker. We all know Dan Monson failed to reign in and teach the highest potential gopher of all-time, sad story that is, but with Tubby here now I have faith Chip is going to end up a very, very good player. Just maybe not this year.
Elliott Eliason: Reports are that he's going to redshirt, and that makes sense given the Gophers' depth in the paint and the fact that it wouldn't kill him to put on some weight before taking on the big ten wide bodies. Still, from what I've seen I think he could contribute this year if he was needed. He seems to have a nice feel for the game and good fundamentals. Should be a quality player down the road.
Blake Hoffarber: Blake be Blake. I think he's turned into just the type of the player a contending team needs. He's obviously an amazing dead-eye shooter who has developed a hair trigger release, but he's also a very smart player, which leads to good passes, good decisions, and getting more rebounds than a player of his size and athletic ability should. I'm still a bit worried about him against the more athletic teams and their ability to expose him on defense and/or shut him down on the offensive end, but he's going to be the difference between winning and losing at least once this year. Could be the next Lee Humphrey.
Austin Hollins: Looking like he might be the best of this year's freshman, Hollins has shown an ability to play defense, handle the ball, shoot the perimeter shot, and put it on the floor and get to the rim. Just a really solid all-around game and very impressive for a player so young. I don't know how he'll hold up to a full season of Big 10 ball because he's still a bit slight, but he's going to contribute this year and be a big part of how far the team can go.
Colt Iverson: Iverson has gone from completely uncoordinated oaf two years ago to semi-skilled brutish oaf coming into this year (think Jeff Hagen with less fat and more elbows). Over the last two years he's added an awkward drop-step to a power layup and an awkward jump hook to a repertoire that used to be made up of "layup" and "dunk", so it was a solid step forward. I sort of think he's hit his ceiling skill-wise, but with better fundamentals and more confidence he could probably get himself in the 10 pt/8 reb range by his senior year. That's about a million years better than I expected, so I salute you, sir. Also plays the Miles Tarver role by making it clear he'll mix it up if you start effing with the high priced talent. Probably the most important role he plays on this team, and I'm not kidding. Still gets most of his points by out-muscling weaker and smaller players, so it will be interesting to see how he adjusts when he goes against defenders of similar stature, something he was unable to do last season.
Devoe Joseph: This is the scorer right here. Played limited minutes against NE St. due to an injury which shouldn't be a problem, but from what I've seen he's willingly and ably stepped into the Lawrence Westbrook role of the guy who can get his shot if nothing else is working. Hopefully this year most of that comes in the flow of the offense and we don't see as much of the "pass it around for 30 seconds, get nothing, and then throw it to the guard and make him get his own shot."
Trevor Mbakwe: Oh my baby santa jesus. Built like Deebo but with the athletic ability of Sidney Deane, Mbakwe is going to be an absolute force this year. I don't know if the Gophers have had anybody with that kind of combination - ever. I don't know if he has a jump shot, or at least I haven't noticed (probably because I'm too busy drooling), and we haven't seen him have to take his game at anybody anywhere near his skill or size level yet, but I am insanely optimistic here. Reign Man II has arrived.
Al Nolen: I said after last season that if Nolen could do what Eric Harris did, and that's take his game (great defender, great penetrator, good distributor, terrible shooter) and add a dependable three-point jump shot to it he'd be damn near unstoppable. I haven't seen any indication that it has happened and he wasn't looking to score at all against NE St., but then again he didn't have to because the Gophers could just do whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. It will be interesting to see how he responds against legit competition when he has no choice but to show he can make a bucket or two. If he's even a capable outside shooter it can elevate this team another level. Like Blake, I expect he will be the difference between winning and losing in at least one game this year, although I'm less confident of the the column he can put that game in.
Ralph Sampson III: I've made no secret of my love for Ralph on here and my firm belief that he can one day be a Big Ten POY contender, and he's shown that his outside touch on the jumper has gotten even better. I fear he might have a propensity to fall in love with the perimeter a bit too much, and he showed a tendency the last couple of years to completely disappear in games when the opponent's big men were knocking him around a bit, but hopefully he's shed that bit of softness and is willing to mix it up. With Mbakwe, Iverson, and Walker on the team he doesn't have to be a banger, but he can't shy away from battles under the rim either.
Maurice Walker: Definitely a big boy, but he looks like he's already slimmed down a bit since Canada and hopefully Tubby can keep him moving in that direction. He has good hands and good footwork, so less body he has to carry around the more athletic and quicker he's going to be. Should be solid for 10 minutes or so a game this year, but we won't really know how good or how ungood he will be this season until we see him against a team that has post players who don't get knocked out of bounds by his sheer size.
Rodney Williams: Still dunks like a crazy person and still hits threes, which are both very good things, but I'm still hoping to see him develop a mid-ranger jumper and/or learn to take the ball and attack the rim. All the potential in the world is there, and he'll be very good this year, but if he had Austin Hollins' game with his ability he'd be a Big Ten POY candidate right now. This is not a knock on Rodney, he's still just a sophomore, but I see so much ability and just hope Tubby can help him take it up a notch. If nothing else, he's looking like a good candidate to be an all league type defender right now.
In case you couldn't tell, I feel a bit too optimistic about the team this year, and it has nothing to do with dismantling NE State. Every Big Ten team (with the exception of Illinois this year) dismantles their exhibition opponents. It has more to do with looking at this collection of talent and knowing we have Tubby on the bench to direct it. Honestly at this point I'm thinking anything less than the Sweet 16 is a disappointment. I am crazy? M-O-O-N, that spells homer.
Maverick Ahanmisi: He looked pretty shaky in Canada, but was better against NE St. Early reports made it seem as if he couldn't dribble with his left hand or kept dribbling off his foot or couldn't play point guard, but he didn't look like he was a complete waste. If he ends up playing a lot of significant minutes that won't be good, but I'm cautiously optimistic he might be an ok back-up by the end of his time here.
Chip Armelin: The latest Gopher freshman signing for the class and reportedly the most athletic, he looks exactly as advertised - incredible athlete and a bit of a project. He showed he has a pretty good looking jump shot and is definitely a great athlete, but he was also out of position a ton on defense - mainly because he can't seem to harness his energy and is a bit of a spaz. Dare I say it, but he reminded me quite a bit of Rico Tucker. We all know Dan Monson failed to reign in and teach the highest potential gopher of all-time, sad story that is, but with Tubby here now I have faith Chip is going to end up a very, very good player. Just maybe not this year.
Elliott Eliason: Reports are that he's going to redshirt, and that makes sense given the Gophers' depth in the paint and the fact that it wouldn't kill him to put on some weight before taking on the big ten wide bodies. Still, from what I've seen I think he could contribute this year if he was needed. He seems to have a nice feel for the game and good fundamentals. Should be a quality player down the road.
Blake Hoffarber: Blake be Blake. I think he's turned into just the type of the player a contending team needs. He's obviously an amazing dead-eye shooter who has developed a hair trigger release, but he's also a very smart player, which leads to good passes, good decisions, and getting more rebounds than a player of his size and athletic ability should. I'm still a bit worried about him against the more athletic teams and their ability to expose him on defense and/or shut him down on the offensive end, but he's going to be the difference between winning and losing at least once this year. Could be the next Lee Humphrey.
Austin Hollins: Looking like he might be the best of this year's freshman, Hollins has shown an ability to play defense, handle the ball, shoot the perimeter shot, and put it on the floor and get to the rim. Just a really solid all-around game and very impressive for a player so young. I don't know how he'll hold up to a full season of Big 10 ball because he's still a bit slight, but he's going to contribute this year and be a big part of how far the team can go.
Colt Iverson: Iverson has gone from completely uncoordinated oaf two years ago to semi-skilled brutish oaf coming into this year (think Jeff Hagen with less fat and more elbows). Over the last two years he's added an awkward drop-step to a power layup and an awkward jump hook to a repertoire that used to be made up of "layup" and "dunk", so it was a solid step forward. I sort of think he's hit his ceiling skill-wise, but with better fundamentals and more confidence he could probably get himself in the 10 pt/8 reb range by his senior year. That's about a million years better than I expected, so I salute you, sir. Also plays the Miles Tarver role by making it clear he'll mix it up if you start effing with the high priced talent. Probably the most important role he plays on this team, and I'm not kidding. Still gets most of his points by out-muscling weaker and smaller players, so it will be interesting to see how he adjusts when he goes against defenders of similar stature, something he was unable to do last season.
Devoe Joseph: This is the scorer right here. Played limited minutes against NE St. due to an injury which shouldn't be a problem, but from what I've seen he's willingly and ably stepped into the Lawrence Westbrook role of the guy who can get his shot if nothing else is working. Hopefully this year most of that comes in the flow of the offense and we don't see as much of the "pass it around for 30 seconds, get nothing, and then throw it to the guard and make him get his own shot."
Trevor Mbakwe: Oh my baby santa jesus. Built like Deebo but with the athletic ability of Sidney Deane, Mbakwe is going to be an absolute force this year. I don't know if the Gophers have had anybody with that kind of combination - ever. I don't know if he has a jump shot, or at least I haven't noticed (probably because I'm too busy drooling), and we haven't seen him have to take his game at anybody anywhere near his skill or size level yet, but I am insanely optimistic here. Reign Man II has arrived.
Al Nolen: I said after last season that if Nolen could do what Eric Harris did, and that's take his game (great defender, great penetrator, good distributor, terrible shooter) and add a dependable three-point jump shot to it he'd be damn near unstoppable. I haven't seen any indication that it has happened and he wasn't looking to score at all against NE St., but then again he didn't have to because the Gophers could just do whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. It will be interesting to see how he responds against legit competition when he has no choice but to show he can make a bucket or two. If he's even a capable outside shooter it can elevate this team another level. Like Blake, I expect he will be the difference between winning and losing in at least one game this year, although I'm less confident of the the column he can put that game in.
Ralph Sampson III: I've made no secret of my love for Ralph on here and my firm belief that he can one day be a Big Ten POY contender, and he's shown that his outside touch on the jumper has gotten even better. I fear he might have a propensity to fall in love with the perimeter a bit too much, and he showed a tendency the last couple of years to completely disappear in games when the opponent's big men were knocking him around a bit, but hopefully he's shed that bit of softness and is willing to mix it up. With Mbakwe, Iverson, and Walker on the team he doesn't have to be a banger, but he can't shy away from battles under the rim either.
Maurice Walker: Definitely a big boy, but he looks like he's already slimmed down a bit since Canada and hopefully Tubby can keep him moving in that direction. He has good hands and good footwork, so less body he has to carry around the more athletic and quicker he's going to be. Should be solid for 10 minutes or so a game this year, but we won't really know how good or how ungood he will be this season until we see him against a team that has post players who don't get knocked out of bounds by his sheer size.
Rodney Williams: Still dunks like a crazy person and still hits threes, which are both very good things, but I'm still hoping to see him develop a mid-ranger jumper and/or learn to take the ball and attack the rim. All the potential in the world is there, and he'll be very good this year, but if he had Austin Hollins' game with his ability he'd be a Big Ten POY candidate right now. This is not a knock on Rodney, he's still just a sophomore, but I see so much ability and just hope Tubby can help him take it up a notch. If nothing else, he's looking like a good candidate to be an all league type defender right now.
In case you couldn't tell, I feel a bit too optimistic about the team this year, and it has nothing to do with dismantling NE State. Every Big Ten team (with the exception of Illinois this year) dismantles their exhibition opponents. It has more to do with looking at this collection of talent and knowing we have Tubby on the bench to direct it. Honestly at this point I'm thinking anything less than the Sweet 16 is a disappointment. I am crazy? M-O-O-N, that spells homer.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Gopher Canada Trip Wrap-Up
In lieu of another yawner of a Weekend Review, instead I'm going to take give my thoughts on the Gopher hoops squad after their trip through the dirty white north over the weekend, where they went 3-0 against the likes of the University of British-Columbia (80-62), Trinity Western (80-68), and the University of Victoria (101-67). There was plenty of other action this weekend, what with college football getting started, but since Gopher basketball is the #1 focus of this blog and the thing I'm most interested in, it's now the thing you are most interested in as well.
Even with the new baby and all, I was able to catch the second half of the first game, the entire second game, and most of the first half of the third game, so I didn't see everything, but enough to give me an idea of what's up.
First the overall impressions:
Offense: Very sloppy in general, and seemed to consist almost entirely of either fast breaks (usually resulting in turnovers) or dumping the ball in to the block - a good idea based on the Gophers huge size advantage over all three Canadian teams. Running the high/low should be a good strategy this year with the good size the Gophers will have inside, so it was nice to see it get some run, but I would have liked to see a little more motion and/or flex, since whenever the team ran those last year they ended up not getting a good shot far too often. Some of the same thing happened on this trip, only with Devoe Joseph playing the L-Dub role. Overall the Gophers scored a lot of points due to their talent, not their offensive schemes. That worries me. As do 28, 22, and 17 turnovers in the three games.
Defense: Terrible. Absolutely awful. They were beaten on drives, weren't getting out to the perimeter to contest shots, gave up open looks due to poor defensive rotation, and gave up way too many offensive rebounds to undersized teams. They were bailed out often by blocked shots due to their superior athleticism, and the numbers look good (allowed just 27% and 38% shooting the first two games), but that was more a function of poor shooting by the Canadian teams - not good defense. Both UBC and Trinity missed a ton of open looks, and when Victoria made those open looks in game 3, they jumped out to 24-16 first quarter lead. Maybe it's a function of so many new players this year, but the defense ranged from below average at best to atrocious at worst.
Now, player-by-player. First, the returnees:
Blake Hoffarber: Blake is Blake, and once again his shot is going to be a big difference in how far the team can go this year. He's still the smartest player on the team, and probably the best point guard on the team if you don't count athleticism or dribbling, and still a great rebounder for his size and jumpability, but his shot is where he is going to make his contribution. He went 2-8, 4-8, and 5-10 in the three games, so it looks like his shot is in good shape right now. I still maintain and will always maintain that Blake can take any shot at any time from any where and I won't complain. By far the best shooter in Gopher history, and maybe the best in the nation right now (suck it Diebler). If he doesn't end up winning the college 3-point contest this year (assuming the Gophers aren't in the Final Four) I'll be shocked. Like, Vinny sleeping with Snooki shocked.
Colt Iverson: Still unpolished, and still best described as a banger, I'm not really sure what to make of him. As we saw last year, he can be surprisingly effective on the low block despite looking like a baby giraffe trying to walk at times, but against an equally strong but more athletic player he's screwed. Still, there's no doubt he has a place on this team, even if it's just doing the dirty work under the rim, and will surprise once in a while with an offensive outburst. I won't exactly say I'm a fan, but I'm glad he'll be around.
Devoe Joseph: Unquestionably the best offensive player on this team, he scored 18, 15, and 19 in the three games, and was able to score from deep, get his own shot and hit from mid-range, or get to the rim to score. He's still a scorer and not a PG, but looked like he could fill in admirably when needed, as we saw last year. In Tubby's system he won't be able to flourish the way he would in a more wide open offense, but he should get plenty of opportunities to shine, and should be the #1 option on most possessions. All Big-Ten potential, if not this year, certainly next.
Al Nolen: Well it doesn't look like we're going to see him develop a jumper out of nowhere the way Eric Harris did back in the day, since he didn't seem to be looking for the 3-ball at all (I saw him shoot only one, which he made), but he still has great court vision, both on offense and defense, and seemed to have a better idea of what he was going to do with the ball when he drove, since he's still unguardable off the bounce. I never saw him pick up his dribble in the lane with no idea what to do with it, his signature play the last three years, and each time he got into the lane he either dished it off or was able to put up a nice looking floater. If he can turn into a legit offensive weapon, and he looked good this weekend, it will go a long way to taking the Gophers from good to very good.
Ralph Sampson: Missed the second game with a tweaked ankle and was clearly slowed by it in the third, but in the first game you could see how confident he was with the ball. Part of it I'm sure was the height advantage he had, but he got the ball and went to work each time, showing a nice jumper, a nice jump hook, and a move that looked curiously like the dream shake. And that 18-footer he kept taking and missing last year? He nailed it the two times I saw him take it. Still seemed a bit soft under the boards, but blocked some shots and overall looks like a more confident, more skilled version of himself from last year. Watch yourselves, Big Ten centers.
Rodney Williams: Easily the most disappointing player on the trip for me, I saw no evidence of the kind of improvement I'm looking for from him in year 2. On offense he spent his time roaming baseline to baseline, looking for an alley-oop or a spot up three, never cutting to the hoop or, when he had the ball, driving into the lane. On defense he was lazy a lot of time, relying on his athleticism to recover and block shots after getting beat, a strategy that worked on the trip but won't once he gets into conference play. I'm not giving up on him, far from it, but I didn't see what I wanted to, and that bums me out. He did end up scoring 12 in the third game, so maybe he ended up showing something, but six of those points came off threes and four came off dunks, so I just don't know.
Now, the new guys:
Maverick Ahanmisi: I can't exactly put my finger on anything in particular, other than the 15 footer he took from straight away that hit all backboard, but Maverick seems to fulfill our worst fears - I'm not sure he's an actual D-I player. It's not so much that his turnovers (3, 1, and 4), were out of line with what the rest of the team was doing, but just watching him you get the sense that on a low level high school team where he is the man he knows how to play, but watching him try to fit with the team this weekend was like watching Flounder at the Omegas' party - it's just not going to happen. Maybe it was just nerves, and maybe it's just because it was early, but like Princess Leia said when in the mouth of the space slug, "I have a bad feeling about this."
Elliott Eliason: Unlike Maverick, who is unsafe every time he flies, I like Eliason's vibe. He's too small (strengthwise) to do much this year, and he's not very athletic, and honestly everything about him tells me his upside is Kyle Sanden and I should hope he even gets there, but there's something I like here. He's smart, and he does some nice things with the ball, so if he does fill out there could end up being a legit sleeper somewhere here. Like, maybe a Jon Leuer. Maybe.
Austin Hollins: I'm officially on the Hollins bandwagon. What I had read on him lead me to believe he was too thin to really be a major contributor, but after watching him play either I can't read or everyone is a liar. He looks thing but not like, Jermaine Stanford thin, and there's no doubt he can play. He has a very nice looking jumper, which we knew, but beyond that he wasn't just a jump shooter, he was willing to put the ball on the floor and head to the hoop. He also was one of the few guys who looked like he cared about playing defense. Very impressed. Looking forward to watching him this year.
Trevor Mbakwe: I love Mbakwe as well. When I was referring to him as Reign Man II this offseason it was more wishful thinking than anything else, I had no idea if he was athletic or more of a banger. Turns out my wish comes true, because he's very athletic and very smooth. He's not Shawn Kemp of course, because nobody is, but he looked very good on the perimeter both defensively and putting the ball on the floor and driving by a bigger, slower defender. About the only negative I saw was he didn't really look for a jump shot at all, which leads me to believe he doesn't really have one, but his offensive game inside, rebounding, and defense inside and out mean he's got a very good chance to end up as the Gophers' best player this season. Except of course for Ralph.
Maurice Walker: Mo is big. Really big. Not like, Oliver Miller big, but Draymond Green or Tractor Traylor big. Not that anything is wrong with that - Traylor was a lotto pick (LOL) and Green is a very good player, but I'm not sure Walker has the athletic ability those guys have/had. He had very good games, and has great hands with a nice touch around the rim and excellent foot work, but I'm not sure, at least right away, he is going to have the ability to be a big scorer, and may have to rely on o-boards and put backs. This isn't a knock, and he certainly could and probably will develop a more robust offensive game, but I think his offensive contributions this year will be minimal. His contributions on the boards and the defensive end, however, could be the difference between one NCAA game and three.
Overall: At the risk of stating the painfully obvious, I'm a big believer that the more a team can play together, the better they can be, so this will help during the season for sure. I also look at the fact that they were pushed against Trinity and Victoria not as a negative against the team, but as a positive way for them to grow (like when the Saved by the Bell gang discovered that roach in the boys bathroom). There is no doubt there is plenty that needs to be worked on, but they're off to a good start. Plus, college hoops in September. Who could complain?
Even with the new baby and all, I was able to catch the second half of the first game, the entire second game, and most of the first half of the third game, so I didn't see everything, but enough to give me an idea of what's up.
First the overall impressions:
Offense: Very sloppy in general, and seemed to consist almost entirely of either fast breaks (usually resulting in turnovers) or dumping the ball in to the block - a good idea based on the Gophers huge size advantage over all three Canadian teams. Running the high/low should be a good strategy this year with the good size the Gophers will have inside, so it was nice to see it get some run, but I would have liked to see a little more motion and/or flex, since whenever the team ran those last year they ended up not getting a good shot far too often. Some of the same thing happened on this trip, only with Devoe Joseph playing the L-Dub role. Overall the Gophers scored a lot of points due to their talent, not their offensive schemes. That worries me. As do 28, 22, and 17 turnovers in the three games.
Defense: Terrible. Absolutely awful. They were beaten on drives, weren't getting out to the perimeter to contest shots, gave up open looks due to poor defensive rotation, and gave up way too many offensive rebounds to undersized teams. They were bailed out often by blocked shots due to their superior athleticism, and the numbers look good (allowed just 27% and 38% shooting the first two games), but that was more a function of poor shooting by the Canadian teams - not good defense. Both UBC and Trinity missed a ton of open looks, and when Victoria made those open looks in game 3, they jumped out to 24-16 first quarter lead. Maybe it's a function of so many new players this year, but the defense ranged from below average at best to atrocious at worst.
Now, player-by-player. First, the returnees:
Blake Hoffarber: Blake is Blake, and once again his shot is going to be a big difference in how far the team can go this year. He's still the smartest player on the team, and probably the best point guard on the team if you don't count athleticism or dribbling, and still a great rebounder for his size and jumpability, but his shot is where he is going to make his contribution. He went 2-8, 4-8, and 5-10 in the three games, so it looks like his shot is in good shape right now. I still maintain and will always maintain that Blake can take any shot at any time from any where and I won't complain. By far the best shooter in Gopher history, and maybe the best in the nation right now (suck it Diebler). If he doesn't end up winning the college 3-point contest this year (assuming the Gophers aren't in the Final Four) I'll be shocked. Like, Vinny sleeping with Snooki shocked.
Colt Iverson: Still unpolished, and still best described as a banger, I'm not really sure what to make of him. As we saw last year, he can be surprisingly effective on the low block despite looking like a baby giraffe trying to walk at times, but against an equally strong but more athletic player he's screwed. Still, there's no doubt he has a place on this team, even if it's just doing the dirty work under the rim, and will surprise once in a while with an offensive outburst. I won't exactly say I'm a fan, but I'm glad he'll be around.
Devoe Joseph: Unquestionably the best offensive player on this team, he scored 18, 15, and 19 in the three games, and was able to score from deep, get his own shot and hit from mid-range, or get to the rim to score. He's still a scorer and not a PG, but looked like he could fill in admirably when needed, as we saw last year. In Tubby's system he won't be able to flourish the way he would in a more wide open offense, but he should get plenty of opportunities to shine, and should be the #1 option on most possessions. All Big-Ten potential, if not this year, certainly next.
Al Nolen: Well it doesn't look like we're going to see him develop a jumper out of nowhere the way Eric Harris did back in the day, since he didn't seem to be looking for the 3-ball at all (I saw him shoot only one, which he made), but he still has great court vision, both on offense and defense, and seemed to have a better idea of what he was going to do with the ball when he drove, since he's still unguardable off the bounce. I never saw him pick up his dribble in the lane with no idea what to do with it, his signature play the last three years, and each time he got into the lane he either dished it off or was able to put up a nice looking floater. If he can turn into a legit offensive weapon, and he looked good this weekend, it will go a long way to taking the Gophers from good to very good.
Ralph Sampson: Missed the second game with a tweaked ankle and was clearly slowed by it in the third, but in the first game you could see how confident he was with the ball. Part of it I'm sure was the height advantage he had, but he got the ball and went to work each time, showing a nice jumper, a nice jump hook, and a move that looked curiously like the dream shake. And that 18-footer he kept taking and missing last year? He nailed it the two times I saw him take it. Still seemed a bit soft under the boards, but blocked some shots and overall looks like a more confident, more skilled version of himself from last year. Watch yourselves, Big Ten centers.
Rodney Williams: Easily the most disappointing player on the trip for me, I saw no evidence of the kind of improvement I'm looking for from him in year 2. On offense he spent his time roaming baseline to baseline, looking for an alley-oop or a spot up three, never cutting to the hoop or, when he had the ball, driving into the lane. On defense he was lazy a lot of time, relying on his athleticism to recover and block shots after getting beat, a strategy that worked on the trip but won't once he gets into conference play. I'm not giving up on him, far from it, but I didn't see what I wanted to, and that bums me out. He did end up scoring 12 in the third game, so maybe he ended up showing something, but six of those points came off threes and four came off dunks, so I just don't know.
Now, the new guys:
Maverick Ahanmisi: I can't exactly put my finger on anything in particular, other than the 15 footer he took from straight away that hit all backboard, but Maverick seems to fulfill our worst fears - I'm not sure he's an actual D-I player. It's not so much that his turnovers (3, 1, and 4), were out of line with what the rest of the team was doing, but just watching him you get the sense that on a low level high school team where he is the man he knows how to play, but watching him try to fit with the team this weekend was like watching Flounder at the Omegas' party - it's just not going to happen. Maybe it was just nerves, and maybe it's just because it was early, but like Princess Leia said when in the mouth of the space slug, "I have a bad feeling about this."
Elliott Eliason: Unlike Maverick, who is unsafe every time he flies, I like Eliason's vibe. He's too small (strengthwise) to do much this year, and he's not very athletic, and honestly everything about him tells me his upside is Kyle Sanden and I should hope he even gets there, but there's something I like here. He's smart, and he does some nice things with the ball, so if he does fill out there could end up being a legit sleeper somewhere here. Like, maybe a Jon Leuer. Maybe.
Austin Hollins: I'm officially on the Hollins bandwagon. What I had read on him lead me to believe he was too thin to really be a major contributor, but after watching him play either I can't read or everyone is a liar. He looks thing but not like, Jermaine Stanford thin, and there's no doubt he can play. He has a very nice looking jumper, which we knew, but beyond that he wasn't just a jump shooter, he was willing to put the ball on the floor and head to the hoop. He also was one of the few guys who looked like he cared about playing defense. Very impressed. Looking forward to watching him this year.
Trevor Mbakwe: I love Mbakwe as well. When I was referring to him as Reign Man II this offseason it was more wishful thinking than anything else, I had no idea if he was athletic or more of a banger. Turns out my wish comes true, because he's very athletic and very smooth. He's not Shawn Kemp of course, because nobody is, but he looked very good on the perimeter both defensively and putting the ball on the floor and driving by a bigger, slower defender. About the only negative I saw was he didn't really look for a jump shot at all, which leads me to believe he doesn't really have one, but his offensive game inside, rebounding, and defense inside and out mean he's got a very good chance to end up as the Gophers' best player this season. Except of course for Ralph.
Maurice Walker: Mo is big. Really big. Not like, Oliver Miller big, but Draymond Green or Tractor Traylor big. Not that anything is wrong with that - Traylor was a lotto pick (LOL) and Green is a very good player, but I'm not sure Walker has the athletic ability those guys have/had. He had very good games, and has great hands with a nice touch around the rim and excellent foot work, but I'm not sure, at least right away, he is going to have the ability to be a big scorer, and may have to rely on o-boards and put backs. This isn't a knock, and he certainly could and probably will develop a more robust offensive game, but I think his offensive contributions this year will be minimal. His contributions on the boards and the defensive end, however, could be the difference between one NCAA game and three.
Overall: At the risk of stating the painfully obvious, I'm a big believer that the more a team can play together, the better they can be, so this will help during the season for sure. I also look at the fact that they were pushed against Trinity and Victoria not as a negative against the team, but as a positive way for them to grow (like when the Saved by the Bell gang discovered that roach in the boys bathroom). There is no doubt there is plenty that needs to be worked on, but they're off to a good start. Plus, college hoops in September. Who could complain?
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
I Quit Blogging Forever [***PHOTO UPDATE***]
Ok I don't quit forever, but seriously you guys, I am absolutely heart-broken. More heartbroken than when my high school girlfriend dumped me. More heartbroken than when Kelly dumped Zack at the Costume Ball. If you're the typical white trash, snowmobiling, duck-hunting cretin who lives in this state, try to remember how you felt after the '99 NFC Championship game - that's how I feel now. In a season that has been nothing more than disappointment after disappointment, the team had one last chance to salvage the season and had it in hand. Then it slipped away like a fart in the wind.
And for one rare occasion, I'm actually not upset with any of the players. They absolutely played their asses off tonight. Ralph was the man we've always wanted him to be. As Bogart texted me at one point, "Ralph has arrived." He took on the challenge of going against JaJuan and bested him at every turn. Devoe stepped up big time and showed what he can do, taking the offense on his back down the stretch. Overall, just a great game by the players.
But at some point, we need to start thinking critically about the decisions Tubby Smith made, and it's awfully hard for me to come up with a way to not blame him for this loss.
The timeout with four seconds left is your most obvious, and most egregious error. I fail to see any reason to stop play there, because how often are you going to be able to come up with a good shot with only four seconds to play? And yes, the Gophers actually ended up with a great shot which Joseph unfortunately missed, but how can we give Tubby any credit for that? Devoe made a great one-on-one play, and that's all it was, Devoe on his own. he got no screen, there was no ball movement, there was no pick-and-roll. It was just Devoe with the ball, make something happen - which he did, but how was it any better than the shot he got before the timeout was called (which he made?) Tubby called a timeout in a similar situation late last season (Michigan, maybe?) which cost the team the game because they couldn't get a good shot in the halfcourt set. Earlier this season, he let the team just play, and even if it wasn't the best look, Westbrook hit the jumper to beat Penn State. Tubby needs to learn to let his team play, especially when the half court offense is so poor. Awful call.
Perhaps worse, and inexplicable to me, was having Colt Iverson in the game down the stretch instead of Westbrook. And I'm not even talking about the bizarre airball lay-up thing, because it's kind of like throwing a monkey a Rubik's Cube - what's more likely, that he solves it or humps it? And I'm not really even a fan of Westbrook, but any jackass knows that he is the only player who can get to the rim on this team, which he showed with thirty seconds left. He needs to be in the game down the stretch.
And defensively, what does Iverson give you that you need? I'm boggled. On Keaton Grant's huge shot with just over a minute remaining (which was a really, really tough shot, I'll grant you) Ralph was the one trying to run out on him. Why Ralph? Say Westbrook is in there instead of Colton, then Ralph is on the inside and someone like Damian is closing out on the perimeter. You think DJ couldn't get there before Grant got the shot off? And on the game winner by E'Twaun Moore, guess who the defender who got beat on the baseline was, causing the poor defensive rotation?
I won't even mention some of the groupings we saw in the first half. I mean, I think everybody knows that Rodney, Cobbs, Iverson, Sampson, and Carter isn't going to work out.
No, give credit to Purdue where it's due - both Moore and Grant hit very tough shots, and the Gopher players gave it their all and played a good game. This one is on Tubby.
You broke my heart.
[*******PHOTO UPDATE********]
I'm updating this to include a couple of really awesome pictures of Ralphie's three-pointer that Dan from Horan Horan Design sent me. He was sitting in front of us with his super fancy camera and was kind enough to share these with me. Very cool shots, and make sure to check out his site.
Needless to say, I was far more pumped up for these at the time than I am now, as I stare at the staple remover on my desk and try to decide if it would work as a cutting tool, just so I can feel again.
Thanks again, Dan. Great pictures.
And for one rare occasion, I'm actually not upset with any of the players. They absolutely played their asses off tonight. Ralph was the man we've always wanted him to be. As Bogart texted me at one point, "Ralph has arrived." He took on the challenge of going against JaJuan and bested him at every turn. Devoe stepped up big time and showed what he can do, taking the offense on his back down the stretch. Overall, just a great game by the players.
But at some point, we need to start thinking critically about the decisions Tubby Smith made, and it's awfully hard for me to come up with a way to not blame him for this loss.
The timeout with four seconds left is your most obvious, and most egregious error. I fail to see any reason to stop play there, because how often are you going to be able to come up with a good shot with only four seconds to play? And yes, the Gophers actually ended up with a great shot which Joseph unfortunately missed, but how can we give Tubby any credit for that? Devoe made a great one-on-one play, and that's all it was, Devoe on his own. he got no screen, there was no ball movement, there was no pick-and-roll. It was just Devoe with the ball, make something happen - which he did, but how was it any better than the shot he got before the timeout was called (which he made?) Tubby called a timeout in a similar situation late last season (Michigan, maybe?) which cost the team the game because they couldn't get a good shot in the halfcourt set. Earlier this season, he let the team just play, and even if it wasn't the best look, Westbrook hit the jumper to beat Penn State. Tubby needs to learn to let his team play, especially when the half court offense is so poor. Awful call.
Perhaps worse, and inexplicable to me, was having Colt Iverson in the game down the stretch instead of Westbrook. And I'm not even talking about the bizarre airball lay-up thing, because it's kind of like throwing a monkey a Rubik's Cube - what's more likely, that he solves it or humps it? And I'm not really even a fan of Westbrook, but any jackass knows that he is the only player who can get to the rim on this team, which he showed with thirty seconds left. He needs to be in the game down the stretch.
And defensively, what does Iverson give you that you need? I'm boggled. On Keaton Grant's huge shot with just over a minute remaining (which was a really, really tough shot, I'll grant you) Ralph was the one trying to run out on him. Why Ralph? Say Westbrook is in there instead of Colton, then Ralph is on the inside and someone like Damian is closing out on the perimeter. You think DJ couldn't get there before Grant got the shot off? And on the game winner by E'Twaun Moore, guess who the defender who got beat on the baseline was, causing the poor defensive rotation?
I won't even mention some of the groupings we saw in the first half. I mean, I think everybody knows that Rodney, Cobbs, Iverson, Sampson, and Carter isn't going to work out.
No, give credit to Purdue where it's due - both Moore and Grant hit very tough shots, and the Gopher players gave it their all and played a good game. This one is on Tubby.
You broke my heart.
[*******PHOTO UPDATE********]
I'm updating this to include a couple of really awesome pictures of Ralphie's three-pointer that Dan from Horan Horan Design sent me. He was sitting in front of us with his super fancy camera and was kind enough to share these with me. Very cool shots, and make sure to check out his site.
Needless to say, I was far more pumped up for these at the time than I am now, as I stare at the staple remover on my desk and try to decide if it would work as a cutting tool, just so I can feel again.
Thanks again, Dan. Great pictures.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
F the Buckeyes
That's a terrible post title, but I couldn't really think of anything else because I'm so damn tired. Seriously, I'm exhausted. I probably have mono. Or AIDS. I haven't had any gay sex lately or hugged Magic Johnson, so it's probably not AIDS.
1. Is Ohio State more of a "final four" team like you said, or "not a top 100" team like Dawger said? It should be obvious at this point that any time Dawger and I disagree, you just take my side and you'll be good, and this is just another example. Since the Gophers beat them at Williams, they have won at Purdue, vs. Wisconsin, and at Iowa and lost at #12 West Virginia by 6. The team's RPI this year is 41, they're ranked 14th by Ken Pomeroy's numbers and 20th and 24th in the two polls, and are 12-3 when Evan Turner plays. I'll admit "final four team" might be a little bit strong, but "not a top 100" team is just plain old ludicrously stupid. Much like everything else that comes out of Dawger's mouth. You can still get them at 75-1 to win the National Championship. I recommend you throw a $5-spot on it.
2. So just how good is this Evan Turner? If you can get past the fact that he turns it over a ridiculous four times per game he's pretty damn good. His 18.4 ppg ranks third in the Big Ten. His 9.9 rebounds per game ranks first in the conference, and his 5.5 assists ranks second. He's also tied for fourth in steals per game at 1.7 and is twelfth in blocks at 0.9 per game. All this while shooting 55%, good for fourth in the Big Ten, and he's a guard. The team is 12-3 with him, including wins over Purdue, Florida State, and Cal, and is just 3-3 without him with a loss to Michigan. He might legitimately be the best player in college basketball this year, and if he hadn't gotten hurt would be a legit National Player of the Year candidate.
3. Tell me about the rest of guys, but be quick about it. I don't have all day. Fellow wings David Lighty and William Buford are basically knockoffs of Turner, and both can carry the team if they need to. Lighty scored 18 in the second-half alone this week against Iowa, and Buford played his best game of the year last weekend against West Virginia with 22 on 9-13 shooting. Jon Diebler is the only player in the conference with more three-pointers made than Blake Hoffarber this year, shoots 44% behind the line, and has hit five or more threes in a game seven-times already (and can get his own shot). Finally, manning the paint is Dallas Lauderdale, who is an offensive retard but leads the conference in blocked shots and is a pretty intimidating force in the middle - good thing the Gophers don't have anybody who can drive into the paint anyway.
4. How is the post-Al Nolen point guard thing going? Well Justin Cobbs has been a non-factor. He played just four minutes against Michigan State because he was way, way, way, way too freaking hyper resulting in two turnovers in those four minutes. In the next game against Northwestern he played better, putting in 12 minutes of work and getting almost nothing on his stat line, good or bad. I didn't notice him for his good play, but didn't notice him for bad either. Devoe Joseph had a great game against Michigan State with 16 points and 7 assists against just 1 turnover, but kind of disappeared against NW with just six points and four turnovers. So, in a word, pretty uneven.
I'm encouraged because both Joseph and Cobbs have shown flashes the past two games, but they'll need to play even better if there's an NCAA bid in the future. Ohio State doesn't match up well against quick point guards because there best guys are bigger wings and their only "true" point guard is a gigantic douchebag. I just don't know if either of our guys would be classified as a "quick" point guard. As usual and in every game the rest of the year, point guard play is going to be a huge key.
5. This would obviously be a huge win for the Gophers, is there any reason to believe? Not really. Ohio State is almost as good defensively as the Gophers, but are a far, far better offensive team - one of the best in the country (16th in offensive efficiency). They can thrive either in the halfcourt or in an up-and-down fast-paced game and have not only the best player out of the two teams, but maybe the best two or three. I'm hoping the Gophers can keep it close to the end and find a way to sneak a win out somehow, but I think a blowout is more likely (and not the good way).
Ohio State 74, Minnesota 62.
1. Is Ohio State more of a "final four" team like you said, or "not a top 100" team like Dawger said? It should be obvious at this point that any time Dawger and I disagree, you just take my side and you'll be good, and this is just another example. Since the Gophers beat them at Williams, they have won at Purdue, vs. Wisconsin, and at Iowa and lost at #12 West Virginia by 6. The team's RPI this year is 41, they're ranked 14th by Ken Pomeroy's numbers and 20th and 24th in the two polls, and are 12-3 when Evan Turner plays. I'll admit "final four team" might be a little bit strong, but "not a top 100" team is just plain old ludicrously stupid. Much like everything else that comes out of Dawger's mouth. You can still get them at 75-1 to win the National Championship. I recommend you throw a $5-spot on it.
2. So just how good is this Evan Turner? If you can get past the fact that he turns it over a ridiculous four times per game he's pretty damn good. His 18.4 ppg ranks third in the Big Ten. His 9.9 rebounds per game ranks first in the conference, and his 5.5 assists ranks second. He's also tied for fourth in steals per game at 1.7 and is twelfth in blocks at 0.9 per game. All this while shooting 55%, good for fourth in the Big Ten, and he's a guard. The team is 12-3 with him, including wins over Purdue, Florida State, and Cal, and is just 3-3 without him with a loss to Michigan. He might legitimately be the best player in college basketball this year, and if he hadn't gotten hurt would be a legit National Player of the Year candidate.
3. Tell me about the rest of guys, but be quick about it. I don't have all day. Fellow wings David Lighty and William Buford are basically knockoffs of Turner, and both can carry the team if they need to. Lighty scored 18 in the second-half alone this week against Iowa, and Buford played his best game of the year last weekend against West Virginia with 22 on 9-13 shooting. Jon Diebler is the only player in the conference with more three-pointers made than Blake Hoffarber this year, shoots 44% behind the line, and has hit five or more threes in a game seven-times already (and can get his own shot). Finally, manning the paint is Dallas Lauderdale, who is an offensive retard but leads the conference in blocked shots and is a pretty intimidating force in the middle - good thing the Gophers don't have anybody who can drive into the paint anyway.
4. How is the post-Al Nolen point guard thing going? Well Justin Cobbs has been a non-factor. He played just four minutes against Michigan State because he was way, way, way, way too freaking hyper resulting in two turnovers in those four minutes. In the next game against Northwestern he played better, putting in 12 minutes of work and getting almost nothing on his stat line, good or bad. I didn't notice him for his good play, but didn't notice him for bad either. Devoe Joseph had a great game against Michigan State with 16 points and 7 assists against just 1 turnover, but kind of disappeared against NW with just six points and four turnovers. So, in a word, pretty uneven.
I'm encouraged because both Joseph and Cobbs have shown flashes the past two games, but they'll need to play even better if there's an NCAA bid in the future. Ohio State doesn't match up well against quick point guards because there best guys are bigger wings and their only "true" point guard is a gigantic douchebag. I just don't know if either of our guys would be classified as a "quick" point guard. As usual and in every game the rest of the year, point guard play is going to be a huge key.
5. This would obviously be a huge win for the Gophers, is there any reason to believe? Not really. Ohio State is almost as good defensively as the Gophers, but are a far, far better offensive team - one of the best in the country (16th in offensive efficiency). They can thrive either in the halfcourt or in an up-and-down fast-paced game and have not only the best player out of the two teams, but maybe the best two or three. I'm hoping the Gophers can keep it close to the end and find a way to sneak a win out somehow, but I think a blowout is more likely (and not the good way).
Ohio State 74, Minnesota 62.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Oh Snap, here come the Wildcats!
After the world's worst Minnesota sporting weekend I almost forgot that we now get to welcome Northwestern and their boring ass offense and amorphous blob of an unsolvable zone to the Barn. Since no matter how hard I try to ignore this fact it won't go away, we might as well hit up a preview of sorts, eh?
1. If Kevin Coble's hurt, why is Northwestern better this year than last year? Mainly because Coble v. 2.0 is on the scene in the form of John Shurna. He's gangly and awkward, yet fundamentally sound and effective all at the same time. He was a three-star dork coming out of high school and wasn't heavily recruited and had a pretty non-descript freshman year but has exploded this season, more than doubling his scoring average (from 7 to 17), rebounding average (3 to 7), and assists (1 to 2.5). Probably roid related. Solid player (and also a member of my fantasy team, the Rick Rickert All-Stars).
Shurna isn't the only Wildcat to make a major leap this year. Point guard Michael Thompson, who has inexplicably started going by the moniker "Juice", has increased his scoring by about 50% while increasing his assists and decreasing his turnovers and has already dropped 20+ against three good teams (Purdue, Notre Dame, NC State). Jeremy Nash, the reptillian-like head to the aforementioned amorphous blob, is suddenly scoring almost ten points a game as a senior after averaging less than 3.5 througout his career and is stealing nearly two balls a game. He's a major pest. Add in major contributions from freshman Drew Crawford and it's easy to see why not only are they an NCAA contender this year, but could be real threat next year as well.
2. Can you tell me more about this Crawford fella? Sure. Crawford, like most Nor'westerners, was a three-star recruit, but unlike most of them he was heavily recruited with offers from Wake Forest and Oklahoma State but chose to sign with the Wildcats due to his experience with one of the team's assistant coaches who coached his 7th grade AAU team and academic reasons (he had a 4.2 GPA in high school and scored 31 on his ACTs). He's already made an impact at third on the team in scoring, rebounding, and three-pointers made and is a very versatile player at 6-5. He can go off huge, with games of 35, 25, and 22 already this year, but can also be shut down (6 games of under 5 points). Containing Crawford is going to be huge tomorrow. Although Shurna and Thompson are the big guns, Crawford might be the most dangerous. Like a sub-machine gun.
3. So who are the keys for the Gophers? It seems pretty obvious if you ask me, and that's Devoe Joseph and Blake Hoffarber. Joseph is the new point guard, and will be the main man responsible for dealing with that zone. I like this, because a good way to beat a zone is to penetrate the gaps, and although Nolen could penetrate, he sure couldn't finish - just like you. Devoe will have to balance dribble-penetration and smart passes with getting his own shot - not easy against the Wildcat zone, but I have faith.
As far as the Hoff goes, I am sure you remember how Dawger's boyfriend Jamal Abu-Shamala lit up Northwestern every time they played. There are two reasons for that: it's a zone and it's not an athletic team. Well, they still play zone, they still aren't overly athletic (even with Crawford now), and Hoffarber is ten times the player Shamala was (and that might be low). He should be able to get his shots early and often, and if he is still red hot could knock this game out in a hurry.
4. If Minnesota manages to pull this out, is this going to end up being a win over an NCAA Tournament team? Well, probably not, but there's a shot. If Northwestern loses to the Gophers, that drops them to 3-5 in conference play and 14-6 overall. Currently sitting at 56th in RPI (9 spots ahead of the Gophers) and 74th in Strenght of Schedule, they'd certainly have their work cut out for them. They do have a signature win over Purdue and a whole host of medium-good wins (NC State, Iowa State, Stanford, Notre Dame), so I'd bet 9-9 in the conference would have a shot to get them in. They still play Indiana, Iowa, and Penn State all twice so winning all of those gets them to 9-9. It's not likely, but it's possible. FYI that would mean the Gophers have a whole three wins over tournament teams. Joy.
5. In honor of the nerds, can you break this down numbers-wise? Northwestern ranks 62nd in the country in offensive efficiency, 94th in defensive efficiency, and 288th in tempo. The Gophers rank 63rd offensively, 12th defensively, and 68th in tempo. The Wildcats biggest strengths are taking care of the basketball (24th in not turning it over), defending the three (opponents shoot just 28% against - 19th in the country), and shooting the basketball (84th in effective field goal %). Minnesota's weaknesses are getting offensive rebounds (173rd), allowing offensive rebounds (176th), and defending the three pointer (117th). The Gophers' strengths are causing turnovers (8th), defending the two-point shot (15th - just 41.8%), and causing steals (7th) and blocks (7th). Northwestern's weakness are getting offensive rebounds (256th), getting their shots blocked (245th), and defending the two-point shot (205th - allowing 48.6%).
What's all that mean? The teams matchup fairly well, and this could be a tight one. Will Blake's hot shooting overcome a Wildcat defense that defends the three-pointer well? Can Devoe (and Westbrook) get inside the zone and create opportunities? Will the Gophers interior defense stifle the Cats inside players? I don't know, but I know that things like "desperation" and "seriously need to win this one" actually go a long way in college basketball. Plus, they're a bunch of nerds.
Gophers 70, Northwestern 64.
1. If Kevin Coble's hurt, why is Northwestern better this year than last year? Mainly because Coble v. 2.0 is on the scene in the form of John Shurna. He's gangly and awkward, yet fundamentally sound and effective all at the same time. He was a three-star dork coming out of high school and wasn't heavily recruited and had a pretty non-descript freshman year but has exploded this season, more than doubling his scoring average (from 7 to 17), rebounding average (3 to 7), and assists (1 to 2.5). Probably roid related. Solid player (and also a member of my fantasy team, the Rick Rickert All-Stars).
Shurna isn't the only Wildcat to make a major leap this year. Point guard Michael Thompson, who has inexplicably started going by the moniker "Juice", has increased his scoring by about 50% while increasing his assists and decreasing his turnovers and has already dropped 20+ against three good teams (Purdue, Notre Dame, NC State). Jeremy Nash, the reptillian-like head to the aforementioned amorphous blob, is suddenly scoring almost ten points a game as a senior after averaging less than 3.5 througout his career and is stealing nearly two balls a game. He's a major pest. Add in major contributions from freshman Drew Crawford and it's easy to see why not only are they an NCAA contender this year, but could be real threat next year as well.
2. Can you tell me more about this Crawford fella? Sure. Crawford, like most Nor'westerners, was a three-star recruit, but unlike most of them he was heavily recruited with offers from Wake Forest and Oklahoma State but chose to sign with the Wildcats due to his experience with one of the team's assistant coaches who coached his 7th grade AAU team and academic reasons (he had a 4.2 GPA in high school and scored 31 on his ACTs). He's already made an impact at third on the team in scoring, rebounding, and three-pointers made and is a very versatile player at 6-5. He can go off huge, with games of 35, 25, and 22 already this year, but can also be shut down (6 games of under 5 points). Containing Crawford is going to be huge tomorrow. Although Shurna and Thompson are the big guns, Crawford might be the most dangerous. Like a sub-machine gun.
3. So who are the keys for the Gophers? It seems pretty obvious if you ask me, and that's Devoe Joseph and Blake Hoffarber. Joseph is the new point guard, and will be the main man responsible for dealing with that zone. I like this, because a good way to beat a zone is to penetrate the gaps, and although Nolen could penetrate, he sure couldn't finish - just like you. Devoe will have to balance dribble-penetration and smart passes with getting his own shot - not easy against the Wildcat zone, but I have faith.
As far as the Hoff goes, I am sure you remember how Dawger's boyfriend Jamal Abu-Shamala lit up Northwestern every time they played. There are two reasons for that: it's a zone and it's not an athletic team. Well, they still play zone, they still aren't overly athletic (even with Crawford now), and Hoffarber is ten times the player Shamala was (and that might be low). He should be able to get his shots early and often, and if he is still red hot could knock this game out in a hurry.
4. If Minnesota manages to pull this out, is this going to end up being a win over an NCAA Tournament team? Well, probably not, but there's a shot. If Northwestern loses to the Gophers, that drops them to 3-5 in conference play and 14-6 overall. Currently sitting at 56th in RPI (9 spots ahead of the Gophers) and 74th in Strenght of Schedule, they'd certainly have their work cut out for them. They do have a signature win over Purdue and a whole host of medium-good wins (NC State, Iowa State, Stanford, Notre Dame), so I'd bet 9-9 in the conference would have a shot to get them in. They still play Indiana, Iowa, and Penn State all twice so winning all of those gets them to 9-9. It's not likely, but it's possible. FYI that would mean the Gophers have a whole three wins over tournament teams. Joy.
5. In honor of the nerds, can you break this down numbers-wise? Northwestern ranks 62nd in the country in offensive efficiency, 94th in defensive efficiency, and 288th in tempo. The Gophers rank 63rd offensively, 12th defensively, and 68th in tempo. The Wildcats biggest strengths are taking care of the basketball (24th in not turning it over), defending the three (opponents shoot just 28% against - 19th in the country), and shooting the basketball (84th in effective field goal %). Minnesota's weaknesses are getting offensive rebounds (173rd), allowing offensive rebounds (176th), and defending the three pointer (117th). The Gophers' strengths are causing turnovers (8th), defending the two-point shot (15th - just 41.8%), and causing steals (7th) and blocks (7th). Northwestern's weakness are getting offensive rebounds (256th), getting their shots blocked (245th), and defending the two-point shot (205th - allowing 48.6%).
What's all that mean? The teams matchup fairly well, and this could be a tight one. Will Blake's hot shooting overcome a Wildcat defense that defends the three-pointer well? Can Devoe (and Westbrook) get inside the zone and create opportunities? Will the Gophers interior defense stifle the Cats inside players? I don't know, but I know that things like "desperation" and "seriously need to win this one" actually go a long way in college basketball. Plus, they're a bunch of nerds.
Gophers 70, Northwestern 64.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
